Dive Brief:
- Arcus Biosciences will terminate work on a TIGIT-targeting cancer drug following a decision to cancel a Phase 3 trial because it didn’t appear likely to improve patients’ survival, the company said in a statement Friday.
- Called domvanalimab, the drug was being tested in combination with the immunotherapy zimberelimab and chemotherapy against Bristol Myers Squibb’s Opdivo and chemo in gastric and esophageal cancers that haven’t been treated before. Arcus said an independent data committee recommended ending the trial because the domvanalimab combination wasn’t likely to help patients live longer.
- The domvanalimab-based combination was the centerpiece of a partnership with Gilead Sciences that led the bigger company to buy a 33% stake in Arcus and pay $900 million just to secure rights. Arcus shares fell by double-digits in early trading Friday.
Dive Insight:
Arcus executives said trial participants on the domvanalimab combination saw the “same benefit” as those who got Opdivo, a finding that wouldn’t help displace Opdivo as a standard of care. Investigators didn’t detect any new safety concerns for domvanalimab based on the study’s results.
Arcus said it would turn its attention to a different cancer drug called casdatifan, rights to which Gilead allowed to expire earlier this year. Casdatifan is getting increasing attention from Wall Street analysts, some of whom consider it a contender that could best Merck & Co.’s marketed drug Welireg in kidney cancer.
“We are fortunate to be well capitalized and plan to focus our resources on casdatifan, including studying new early-line combinations in kidney cancer, broadening its development into new tumor types, and extending our capabilities beyond oncology,” said CEO Terry Rosen in a statement.
TIGIT, once viewed as one of the next big immune checkpoint targets after the success of Opdivo, Merck’s Keytruda and others PD-1 drugs, now has added another failure to add to a lengthening list. Candidates from Merck, Roche, BeOne Medicines, Agenus and iTeos have hit major setbacks or been shelved.
The other part of the combination being tested in Arcus’ trial, zimberelimab, is a PD-1 approved in China and marketed by Gloria Biosciences.
