3 Top Drugmakers Leading Lung Cancer R&D Right Now

Researchers are making great headway against cancer, even though it’s currently still the second-leading cause of death in the U.S. The first is heart disease. But the American Cancer Society (ACS) noted in its annual report, "Cancer Facts and Figures 2017," that five-year survival rates for prostate cancer and female breast cancer, have increased 99 percent and 91 percent, respectively, from 2006 to 2012. Those are two of the most commonly diagnosed cancer types. But one cancer in particular, has been a tough nut to crack—lung cancer,

According to the ACS, almost a quarter-million people, 222,500, will be diagnosed with lung cancer this year. It’s the second-most diagnosed cancer in the U.S. and the most commonly diagnosed in the world. People diagnosed are three times more likely to die from lung cancer than the next-deadliest, colon cancer.

Sean Williams, writing for The Motley Fool, looks at three biopharma companies leading the charge against lung cancer.

1. Merck

Merck’s immuno-oncology drug, Keytruda, is one of the most successful new cancer drugs. Williams writes, "Merck’s Keytruda is currently approved to treat select advanced lung-cancer patients in both first- and second-line non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). NSCLC is, by far, the most commonly diagnosed lung cancer type. In the Keynote-024 trial for first-line advanced NSCLC patients who had at least 50 percent PD-L1 expressing cells (PD-L1 is a ligand that binds to PD-1 receptors on cells), progression-free survival was improved by 4.3 months (10.3 months vs. 6 months) compared to the chemotherapy arm, with a secondary overall survival benefit also observed. This increase in overall survival was the most exciting aspect of the study given that dozens of patients crossed over to the Keytruda arm from the chemotherapy arm once disease progression was noted."

2. Bristol-Myers Squibb

Bristol-Myers also has successful immuno-oncology compounds, Opdivo and Yervoy. It hasn’t quite had the success of Merck’s Keytruda, but it still has an impact. Its CheckMate-026 study as a first-line NSCLC treatment with Opdivo in patients whose tumors had at least 5 percent PD-L1 expression failed, and in a particularly strange result, the chemotherapy arm showed better result in progression-free survival.

However, Williams writes, "Opdivo has been, and continues to be, a foundational therapy in second-line advanced NSCLC. Approved in Oct. 2015 for second-line NSCLC, Opdivo wound up demonstrating a 19 percent partial or complete response in its pivotal-stage trial, leading to an average survival time of 12.2 months and an average progression-free survival for partial and complete responds of 17 months."

It also had encouraging data from a Phase I/II trial of Opdivo and Yervoy in recurrent small cell lung cancer recently.

3. Roche

Roche’s Avastin is commonly used to treat NSCLC, and brought in $3.4 billion in sales in the first half of this year. It’s a targeted therapy that blocks vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). The company also has immuno-oncology approaches, notably Tecentriq, a PD-L1-targeting therapy. In Oct. 2016, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved it for advanced NSCLC patients whose disease had progressed during or after platinum-containing chemotherapy, and progressed after targeted therapy if the cancer has EGFR or ALK mutations.

Williams writes, "Taking into account that no drug developer has a more expansive product portfolio and pipeline devoted to oncology than Roche, the company’s a good bet to lead the charge against lung cancer in the years that lie ahead."