| Published April 25, 2019

Keytruda takes leadership position in kidney cancer

In 2019, approximately 73,820 new cases of kidney cancer will be diagnosed and approximately 14,770 people will die from the disease. For those affected by renal cell carcinoma, one of the most common forms of kidney cancer, Merck's immunotherapy Keytruda now looks set to take the lead as the leading immune checkpoint inhibitor for the indication.

In October last year, topline results were reported showing that a combination of Merck Keytruda and Pfizer Inclusion improved overall survival, progression-free survival and overall response rate in all risk groups compared to Pfizer's drug SutentFurther positive results came in February when Merck published more information suggesting that the combination nearly halved the risk of death.

Strong faith

The combination treatment received special priority in the regulatory process in the US and on Monday it was announced that it had been approved as a first-line treatment for renal cell carcinoma. In February, Credit Suisse that Merck's data appears to be superior to that of its competitors, such as Bristol-Myers Squibbs combination with Wonderful and Yervoy.
In March, the Cowen a survey of leading experts in renal cell carcinoma. Sixty-four percent of them expect Keytruda-Inlyta combinations to take the lead in renal cell carcinoma within a 3-year period.

Combination therapy seems to be the solution

Inlyta and Sutent are both tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). This means that they block an enzyme, tyrosine kinase (TK), which helps send growth-stimulating signals in cells.
Many believe that a combination of TKIs and immuno-oncology drugs could become the new standard treatment for renal cell carcinoma. This raises high hopes for good results from the ongoing clinical trial with Bristol-Myers Squibbs. Wonderful and Exelixis Cabometyx in patients with renal cell carcinoma.

Continued development at Pfizer/Merck

But Pfizer and Merck are not lagging behind either. FDA has agreed to an accelerated review of their marketing application for a combination of Bavencio and Inlyta in patients with renal cell carcinoma and a regulatory decision is expected before June. So far, the combination has shown positive results in terms of progression-free survival but has not yet demonstrated an improvement in overall survival.
The article is produced in collaboration with BioStock's media partner in the USA, Endpoint News.
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