Michael Vi/iStock Editorial via Getty Images Biotechs developing a class of novel cancer drugs called anti-TIGIT therapies turned lower in the premarket Friday after a similar drug developed by Roche ( OTCQX:RHHBY ) failed in a Phase 2/3 clinical trial. Roche ( OTCQX:RHHBY ) shares fell in European trading on Thursday after the Swiss drugmaker said its anti-TIGIT therapy tiragolumab as part of a first-line drug combo failed to reach the main goals in its SKYSCRAPER-06 trial for non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer . Shares of its rivals in the anti-TIGIT space, namely Compugen ( CGEN ), Arcus Biosciences ( RCUS ), and iTeos Therapeutics ( ITOS ), came under pressure as the U.
S. markets opened for trading on Friday. Roche’s ( OTCQX:RHHBY ) global trial tested tiragolumab, an immune checkpoint inhibitor, in combination with its PD-L1 inhibitor Tecentriq and chemotherapy versus Merck’s ( MRK ) blockbuster cancer therapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) plus chemotherapy.
The company said SKYSCRAPER-06 failed to reach the primary endpoints of progression-free survival and overall survival at its primary analysis and first interim analysis, respectively. However, the drug combination was found to have a safety profile consistent with prior trials. Given the lower efficacy found in the on-drug arm, Roche ( OTCQX:RHHBF ) said it would discontinue the study and review its ongoing clinical program for tiragolumab.
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