Long HCC pipeline marks change for previously stagnant market, says analyst

Despite the high unmet needs within hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the market was stagnant from 2007 until 2018, when the FDA approved Eisai’s (TYO: 4523) Lenvima (lenvatinib) in first-line advanced HCC, the most common form of liver cancer.

The current landscape has seen a rapid change. The needs in the HCC space are likely to be met in the near future, as many new therapies entering the market have different mechanisms of action (MOA) and are aiming to meet needs in different treatment settings. The high variety of pipeline products for the early, intermediate and advanced HCC settings brings hope for improvements to the cure rate for early stage HCC and survival for all stages of disease, according to data and analytics company GlobalData.

The result of Phase III IMbrave150 study demonstrated that the combination of systemic bevacizumab therapy Roche (ROG: SIX) subsidiary Genentech’s Avastin and immunotherapy treatment Tecentriq (atezolizumab) for first-line advanced HCC, approved in May 2020, improved overall survival and progression-free survival than the previous standard of care, Bayer’s (BAYN: DE) Nexavar (sorafenib).