With positive results from a closely watched clinical trial announced Monday, Roche (RHHBY) is on the cusp of joining Merck (MRK) in owning an immunotherapy combination proven effective for patients with newly diagnosed lung cancer.
In the so-called IMpower 150 study, Roche’s checkpoint inhibitor Tecentriq combined with Avastin and chemotherapy demonstrated a “statistically significant and clinically meaningful” reduction in disease worsening compared to Avastin and chemotherapy alone in patients with newly diagnosed non-small cell lung cancer, the Swiss pharma giant announced.
This finding achieved one of two co-primary endpoints of the phase 3 clinical trial. An improvement in overall survival, the other co-primary endpoint, is trending in Tecentriq’s direction but the data are not yet mature. An update on the survival data is expected in the first half of next year, Roche said.
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