Keytruda combo set to become “standard of care” in kidney cancer

Analysts are predicting that a combination of Merck’s Keytruda and Pfizer’s Inlyta will become the standard of care in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) thanks to impressive trial results and a price advantage over BMS’ rival drug. The combination of anti-PD-1 therapy Keytruda with tyrosine kinase inhibitor Inlyta (axitinib) reduced risk of death in RCC by around 47%, compared with Pfizer’s established cancer drug Sutent (sunitinib), in phase 3 KEYNOTE-426 study – announced at the 2019 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium (ASCO GU) on Saturday. The treatment also increased 12-month overall survival by 11.6% and overall response rate by 23.6%, as well as boosting progression-free survival by four months compared to Sutent.
Results were consistent across all risk groups, and regardless of expression of the biomarker PD-L1. The results will help Keytruda take a further bite out of its arch-rival, Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Opdivo, which is already approved in combination with the company’s Yervoy (ipilimumab) for advanced renal cell carcinoma, but had demonstrated lower rates of progression-free survival. Amrita Gujral, the pharma analyst at GlobalData, noted that price could also become a factor that benefits Merck against BMS as Inlyta will lose its patent protection in 2025