Roche's Renal Success Spells Danger For All-Comer Studies

Patient selection by PD-L1 status could be necessary for developing checkpoint inhibitors in first-line renal cell carcinoma, if data from Roche’s (OTCQX:RHHBY) phase II Immotion-150 study presented at Asco-GU over the weekend have a read-across to similarly acting agents.

The results show that Tecentriq plus Avastin only beat Sutent in PD-L1 expressers, and fortuitously Roche is recruiting exactly the same patient group into its large registration trial. Not so Pfizer (NYSE:PFE)/Merck KGaA (OTCPK:MKGAF) (OTCPK:MKGAY) and Merck & Co. (NYSE:MRK), neither of whose pivotal studies in this setting requires patients to show PD-L1 expression – a fact that spells fresh risk for these rival trials .

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