I-O latecomers Pfizer and Merck KGaA fall further behind rivals with new lung cancer delays

Fierce Pharma -------- Some industry watchers have wondered how much sense it makes for Pfizer to forge ahead with the immuno-oncology pact it has in place with Merck KGaA—and a new delay in the all-important lung cancer space is only triggering more questions. The partners have tweaked the design of their trial evaluating candidate avelumab as a first-line monotherapy. Among the changes: The drugmakers changed the primary endpoint to include both progression-free survival and overall survival, and they'll be examining only patients with high PD-L1 expression, as opposed to those with any level. They're also boosting the number of study participants, which will more than double to 1095 from 420. To learn more click on the picture below to read the article.