Immuno-Oncology Outlook: Bavencio Leads PD-1/L1 Pack In Ovarian Cancer

Merck KGaA/Pfizer's Bavencio is likely to be the first checkpoint inhibitor to gain approval in ovarian cancer but Roche's Tecentriq is hot on its heels. The ovarian cancer pipeline boasts seven other late-stage drugs, including antibody-drug conjugates and small molecules, that are ready to ramp up competition on the market.

Arrows — All marketed PD-1/L1 drugs have ovarian cancer trials ongoing but Bavencio leads the charge • Source: Shutterstock

The ovarian cancer market will experience significant growth over the next five years as novel therapies complete pivotal trials and make their way through regulatory agencies; the value of the US market is expected to expand at the fastest rate.

According to forecasts from Datamonitor Healthcare, combined ovarian cancer drug sales in the US, Japan, and five major EU markets (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK) will increase from $121m

Ovarian Cancer Treatment Options

Roche's VEGF inhibitor Avastin (bevacizumab)
AstraZeneca's PARP inhibitor Lynparza (olaparib)
Clovis' PARP inhibitor Rubraca

Pipeline Watch: Thirteen Approvals And Ten Phase III Readouts

06 May 2025

Pipeline Watch is a weekly snapshot of selected late-stage clinical trial events and approvals announced by pharmaceutical and biotech companies at medical and industry conferences, in financial and company presentations, and in company releases and statements.

Accelerated Approval May Be Out Of Reach For PTC’s Huntington’s Drug

05 May 2025

• By Joseph Haas

PTC said its updated Phase II data for PTC 518 met the primary endpoint of Huntingtin’s protein reduction, but analysts said there isn’t clear correlation with clinical benefit.