Positive pivotal Phase III data for Roche's Tecentriq

Swiss pharma giant Roche (ROG: SIX) today announced interim results from the Phase III IMpower010 study, showing for the first time that treatment with Tecentriq (atezolizumab) following surgery and chemotherapy reduced the risk of disease recurrence or death (disease-free survival; DFS) by 34% (hazard ratio [HR]=0.66, 95% CI: 0.50–0.88) in people with Stage II-IIIA non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), whose tumors express PD-L1≥1%, compared with best supportive care (BSC).

In this population, median DFS was not yet reached for Tecentriq, a checkpoint blocker that is a top seller for Roche – with first-quarter 2021 revenues of $847 million, compared with 35.3 for BSC.

In the larger population of all randomized Stage II-IIIA study participants, Tecentriq reduced the risk of disease recurrence or death by 21% (HR=0.79, 95% CI: 0.64–0.96) after a median follow-up of 32.2 months. In this population, Tecentriq increased DFS by a median of seven months (42.3 months versus 35.3 months with BSC). Safety data for Tecentriq were consistent with its known safety profile and no new safety signals were identified.