William Blair analyst Raju Prasad upgraded PTC Therapeutics (PTCT) to Outperform from Market Perform after the company and Roche (RHHBY) presented an update from the Firefish trial with risdiplam in type 1 muscular atrophy babies ages 1-7 months. The analyst now has increased confidence that the drug is achieving a clinical benefit. Wile Roche is responsible for commercialization, risdiplam could conservatively net about $150M in peak royalties to PTC as well as an additional $410M in remaining milestones, Prasad tells investors in a research note. The analyst expects further positive updates from risdiplam in 2018.

Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Alecensa for adjuvant treatment following tumor resection for patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase-positive non-small cell lung cancer, as detected by an FDA-approved test. Alecensa is now the first and only ALK inhibitor approved for people with ALK-positive early-stage NSCLC who have undergone surgery to remove their tumor. "With an unprecedented 76% reduction in the risk of disease recurrence or death versus chemotherapy, Alecensa significantly improves upon the standard of care for people with early-stage ALK-positive lung cancer," said Levi Garraway, M.D., Ph.D., chief medical officer and head of Global Product Development. "At Genentech, our goal is to give patients the best chance of cure by bringing effective, targeted treatments to early-stage disease before their cancer has spread. This approval brings us one step closer to achieving that mission."