Merck KGaA and Pfizer's combo immunotherapy set to become integral element of renal cell carcinoma treatment

Germany’s Merck KGaA (MRK: DE) and Pfizer’s (NYSE: PFE) Phase III JAVELIN Renal 101 trial, which will assess the combination of the checkpoint inhibitor avelumab and Pfizer’s anti-angiogenesis tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) Inlyta (axitinib) in the first-line renal cell carcinoma (RCC) setting, is the most likely immunotherapy combination to be first to market in the treatment space, says an analyst.

According to research and consulting firm GlobalData’s latest RCC report, Bristol-Myers Squibb’s (NYSE: BMY) checkpoint inhibitor Opdivo (nivolumab) will be an important driver of growth over the next few years. After the drug’s approval in November 2015 in the USA and February 2016 in Europe, it established immunotherapy as the new standard of care in recurrent RCC.

Maxime Bourgognon, GlobalData’s analyst covering oncology and hematology explains: “BMS is trialing Opdivo in combination with another checkpoint inhibitor, Yervoy (ipilimumab), an approach that results in a synergistic mechanism of action. This is different to Merck KGaA and Pfizer’s use of TKIs, which has shown the ability to reduce myeloid-derived suppressor cells, alleviating the immunosuppression by the tumor and enhancing the efficacy of immunotherapies.”