Competitors and markets weigh up importance of new Tecentriq data

Swiss pharma giant Roche (ROG: SIX) is desperate to convince the world that it will replace revenues that are slipping away as sales of its blockbuster cancer drugs are hit by the arrival of biosimilar competition.

But the prospect of new data on a combination involving its immuno-oncology (I-O) drug Tecentriq (atezolizumab) helping to achieve this appear optimistic.

On Tuesday, the company announced that the Phase III IMpower131 study met its co-primary endpoint of progression-free survival, demonstrating that the combination of Tecentriq (atezolizumab) plus chemotherapy reduced the risk of disease worsening or death compared with chemotherapy alone in the first-line treatment of people with advanced squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).