Roche, Biogen shutter blockbuster ocrelizumab arthritis program

Once tapped as a likely blockbuster, Roche and Biogen Idec have opted to kill their ambitious late-stage development program of ocrelizumab as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis. Researchers had already been forced to halt trial work earlier this year after patients taking the drug died during the study. And an earlier trial for lupus had already been halted on safety concerns. Once the companies concluded that the anti-inflammatory drug's risk profile fell short of...