Who Are Other Players Gaining From Roche's Accidental Lung Cancer Data Update

Earlier today, Roche Holdings AG RHHBY announced that it had been made aware of inadvertent disclosure of the second interim analysis of Phase 3 SKYSCRAPER-01 study, evaluating tiragolumab plus Tecentriq (atezolizumab) versus Tecentriq alone as an initial (first-line) treatment for PD-L1-high locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer.

Roche's TIGIT-inhibitor, tiragolumab combined with its well-established immuno-oncology drug, Tecentriq demonstrated that at the median, patients who received the combo therapy showed an overall survival of 22.9 months vs. 16.7 months for Tecentriq recipients.

The update helped boost shares of smaller rivals Iteos Therapeutics Inc ITOS and Arcus Biosciences Inc RCUS, who are also working on cancer treatments that block TIGIT, a receptor in the body associated with several types of cancer.

The update validates the TIGIT approach. Other players working in this arena include Gilead Sciences Inc GILD, Merck & Co Inc MRK, and BeiGene Ltd BGNE are also working in this arena. 

Gilead is testing an anti-TIGIT approach with Arcus. Roche is also testing an anti-TIGIT approach in esophageal, cervical, and head & neck cancer. BeiGene also has anti-TIGIT combination therapy in lung, liver, esophageal, and cervical cancers. 

In March, Merck's MK-7684A, a combination of Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and in-house anti-TIGIT compound vibostolimab, did not improve patients' progression-free survival compared to chemotherapy in patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer.

Price Action: GILD stock is up 1.38% at $77.41, MRK shares are up 3.87% at $111.39, BGNE stock gained 4.87% at $203.75, ITOS stock is up 26% at $14.80, and RCUS stock is up 21.7% at $22.90 on the last check Wednesday.