Dive Brief:
- Atezolizumab combined with Genentech's Zelboraf (vemurafenib) elicited a 76% objective response rate in patients with advanced, inoperable or metastatic melanoma in phase 1b trials. Three patients experienced the complete disappearance of their melanoma during treatment.
- Atezolizumab is already in late-stage development for bladder and lung cancers.
- Roche is looking to atezolizumab to achieve blockbuster status relatively rapidly, with $5 billion in revenues by 2020.
Dive Insight:
Although Roche is coming into the immuno-oncology space in third place, after Merck and Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS), it is looking forward to approvals for three different cancer indications, with target revenues of $5 billion in the next five years.
Overall, the entire class of immuno-oncologics, including not only the drugs from Merck and BMS, but also from AstraZeneca, Merck KGaA and Pfizer, are expected to generate more than $30 billion at the peak.