Bolstered by the magnitude of the survival benefit seen for Tecentriq in the Phase III IMpower133 study in small-cell lung cancer, Roche’s clear lead in the modestly sized setting takes a bit of the edge off the PD-L1 inhibitor’s position in the larger non-small cell lung cancer market, where it continues to fall behind Merck & Co. Inc.'s competing Keytruda.
About 15% of all lung cancers are the small-cell type and there are an estimated 27,000 new cases diagnosed each...