Roche's Tencentriq meets co-primary endpoint in lung cancer trial

Roche announced on Thursday that the Phase III IMpower132 study had met its co-primary endpoint of progression-free survival (PFS) and demonstrated that the combination of ‘Tecentriq’ (atezolizumab) plus chemotherapy - cisplatin or carboplatin plus pemetrexed - reduced the risk of disease worsening or death compared to chemotherapy alone in the initial treatment of advanced non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

The Swiss drugmaker said that, while a numerical improvement for the co-primary endpoint of overall survival (OS) was observed, statistical significance was not met at the interim analysis, and the study would continue as planned with final OS results expected next year.

Safety for the Tecentriq and chemotherapy combination appeared consistent with the known safety profile of the individual medicines, and no new safety signals were identified with the combination.

Roche said the data would be presented at an upcoming medical meeting.

"The IMpower132 study showed Tecentriq plus chemotherapy prolonged the time people with this type of advanced lung cancer lived without their disease worsening,” said Roche’s chief medical officer and head of global product development Sandra Horning.

“We will discuss these results with health authorities.”