It’s not easy be­ing 5th: Pfiz­er and Mer­ck KGaA blue­print a new at­tack on ovar­i­an can­cer

In the rapid pro­lif­er­a­tion of check­point in­hibitor stud­ies, it’s not so easy com­ing up with nov­el tri­al de­signs. But Pfiz­er and Mer­ck KGaA laid claim to an orig­i­nal twist this morn­ing, an­nounc­ing plans to start a Phase III study of their check­point drug avelum­ab with plat­inum-based chemo.

That matchup hasn’t been tried be­fore as a first-line treat­ment.

Ovar­i­an can­cer is just one of the 15 tu­mor types the part­ners are tack­ling cur­rent­ly with avelum­ab. Pfiz­er paid $850 mil­lion up­front to gain col­lab­o­ra­tion rights with Mer­ck KGaA, look­ing to fol­low up on its suc­cess in on­col­o­gy with the re­cent ap­proval of pal­bo­ci­clib.

Unlock this article instantly by becoming a free subscriber.

You’ll get access to free articles each month, plus you can customize what newsletters get delivered to your inbox each week, including breaking news.

SIGN UP LOG IN BECOME A PREMIUM SUBSCRIBER