Pfizer/Merck KGAA's Bavencio Gastric Cancer Failure Not As Bad As It Seems

Disappointing outcome for the companies' PD-L1 inhibitor avelumab in late-stage gastric cancer may not have implications for the drug in more valuable indications, like lung cancer.

3d render illustration of human digestive system - front view

The failure of Merck KGAA/Pfizer Inc.'s immuno-oncology latecomer Bavencio (avelumab) to significantly improve overall survival in a Phase III third-line gastric cancer study is a blow, but it may not be as bad as it appears, because the market is small and the trial design was more rigorous than competitors' efforts.

The companies reported Nov

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