Arcus scraps late-stage cancer trial after weak survival data

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Dec 12 (Reuters) – Arcus Biosciences said on Friday it will 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 amend their partnership to speed development of Arcus’ antibodies domvanalimab and zimberelimab.

Arcus’ shares slid 14% in premarket trading following the news, while Gilead was marginally down.

An independent monitoring committee recommended ending the study after an interim analysis showed the Arcus regimen did not improve the overall survival rate compared to the standard treatment.

No new safety issues were found, the companies said.

A related mid-stage study, testing the same combo regime, will also be discontinued, Arcus 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 has 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)