Merck's (MRK) Keytruda and Roche's (RHHBY) Tecentriq are swiping market share from Bristol-Myers Squibb's (BMY) I-O drugs after the companies won FDA approvals in advanced lung cancer, market tracker Symphony Health said Thursday.
Total immuno-oncology drug sales rose 1% in January from December to $483 million, Leerink analyst Seamus Fernandez wrote in a research note, citing Symphony data.
Keytruda and Opdivo are direct rivals as both work to block the interaction between a PD-1 protein on a T-cell and the PD-L1 protein on a cancer cell. Doing so allows the T-cell to see the cancer cell for what it is and destroy it. Roche's Tecentriq targets the PD-L1 checkpoint.
Opdivo was the first to gain approval in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in March 2015. Keytruda and Tecentriq followed in October 2015 and October 2016, respectively. All three are also approved in treating advanced melanoma. Bristol's Yervoy, a CTLA-4 checkpoint, also has approvals in melanoma.
Sales for January show Merck and Roche are gaining share to Bristol's detriment, Symphony data show. Bristol saw its share tip to 70% in January from 72% in December. Keytruda increased to 23% share from 21%, and Tecentriq has 7% share.
IBD'S TAKE: Analysts estimate more than a thousand ongoing trials in immuno-oncology, looking at a multitude of checkpoints. But there are fewer than a dozen approved I-O drugs. Read on for a list of the strongest competitors.
Merck's lead is seemingly solid in NSCLC. In January, the FDA accepted an accelerated approval for Keytruda plus chemo to treat NSCLC. Less than two weeks later, Bristol said it wouldn't seek accelerated approval for its Opdivo plus Yervoy combination in NSCLC.
Last year Merck saw an inflection in shares after its late-stage Keynote-24 trial in NSCLC read out positively, Fernandez wrote. November marked the first full month of sales following Keytruda's approval in NSCLC for patients with 50%-plus PD-L1 expression.
"We continue to see a steady increase in U.S. sales estimates and market share," Fernandez said. "In addition, the approval of Tecentriq for PD-L1 unselected second-line patients on Oct. 18, 2016, is putting additional pressure on Opdivo in this setting."
Opdivo's newer indications in renal cell carcinoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, head and neck cancer and bladder cancer should partially offset its losses in older indications, Fernandez said.
In the stock market today, Merck stock rosed 0.87% to 6586 and Bristol-Myers rose 0.75% to 55.76. Roche stock slipped 0.23% to 30.54. Merck stock was still in a buy zone from a breakout at 65.56 on Feb. 14, while Bristol-Myers was staying above its 50-day support line for a second day.
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