By Kamal Choudhury Dec 12 (Reuters) – Arcus Biosciences said on Friday it would stop a late-stage study testing its experimental cancer drug combination in patients with advanced stomach and esophageal cancers after it failed to improve the survival rate. The trial tested Arcus’ experimental antibodies, domvanalimab and zimberelimab, with chemotherapy against Bristol Myers Squibb’s […]
Health
Arcus scraps late-stage cancer trial after weak survival data
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By Kamal Choudhury
Dec 12 (Reuters) – Arcus Biosciences said on Friday it would stop a late-stage study testing its experimental cancer drug combination in patients with advanced stomach and esophageal cancers after it failed to improve the survival rate.
The trial tested Arcus’ experimental antibodies, domvanalimab and zimberelimab, with chemotherapy against Bristol Myers Squibb’s nivolumab plus chemotherapy, the current standard treatment.
Gilead last year invested $320 million in Arcus at $21 per share and amended their partnership to speed development of Arcus’ antibodies.
Arcus shares slid 8% in morning trading following the news, while Gilead edged slightly lower.
An independent monitoring committee recommended ending the study after an interim analysis showed the Arcus regimen did not improve the overall survival rate, compared with the standard treatment.
No new safety issues were found, the companies said.
A related mid-stage study, testing the same combo regimen, will also be discontinued, Arcus said.
Domvanalimab is an anti-TIGIT antibody, part of a class of immune checkpoint inhibitors designed to help the immune system attack tumors.
The setback adds to mounting disappointments for this drug class, with major drugmakers including GSK, Merck, Roche and BeiGene abandoning TIGIT programs following lackluster results.
Given the industry-wide struggles, “there were very low expectations around domvanalimab’s potential” in the trial, Wedbush analyst Robert Driscoll said.
Gilead and Arcus said they are informing regulators and study investigators about the development and will publish a detailed analysis later.
Other trials of domvanalimab in different cancers will continue, with only the upper gastrointestinal program affected.
Arcus will shift its focus to casdatifan, a kidney cancer drug in development, and plans to advance new treatments for inflammatory and autoimmune diseases starting in 2026.
Arcus said it had about $1 billion in cash and expects to fund operations through the second half of 2028.
(Reporting by Kamal Choudhury in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva and Shinjini Ganguli)