Dive Brief:
- Clovis and Roche/Genentech are teaming up to test out a lung cancer dual combo therapy that utilizes an investigational Clovis oral medication and an investigational Genentech injectable.
- The Clovis drug, rociletinib, is an EGFR inhibitor which has won breakthrough designation from the FDA. The Genentech therapy, atezolizumab, is part of the hot new class of checkpoint inhibiting immunotherapies that has taken the oncology world by storm since last year.
- Clovis has already filed rociletinib in the U.S. and Europe as a second-line treatment for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with a mutation that causes resistance to drugs such as EGFR inhibitors.
Dive Insight:
PD-L1 and PD-1 inhibitors are all the rage these days. So it's only logical that companies will be interested in seeing whether their immunotherapies can gain an advantage over others in this field by demonstrating synergies with other drugs.
Right now, the field is pretty much dominated by Merck's Keytruda and Bristol-Myers' Opdivo. But Genentech is hoping to change that dynamic with atezolizumab, and this combo trial with Clovis is part of its strategy to show that its relatively late-to-the-game compound can shine.