DARMSTADT, Germany and NEW YORK, May 17, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --
Not intended for US, Canada and UK-based media
- A total of 13 abstracts across seven hard-to-treat cancers highlight the progress of avelumab as a monotherapy and potential novel combination treatment option - New data in metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma and previously treated metastatic urothelial carcinoma, following recent US FDA accelerated approvals
Merck and Pfizer today announced that 13 avelumab* abstracts across seven challenging tumor types will be featured at the 53rd American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting held June 2-6, 2017 in Chicago, IL. Key presentations include data for avelumab in first-line metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma (mMCC) and in previously treated metastatic urothelial carcinoma (UC), as well as results from the Phase Ib trial investigating avelumab in combination with the tyrosine kinase inhibitor axitinib, in advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC).
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"Our ASCO presence adds to what has already been a momentous year for the alliance, coming shortly after the US FDA granted two accelerated approvals for avelumab," said Luciano Rossetti, M.D., Executive Vice President, Global Head of Research & Development at the biopharma business of Merck, which in the US and Canada operates as EMD Serono. "We're particularly excited to share the latest avelumab data in both metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma in the first-line setting and previously treated metastatic urothelial carcinoma with the cancer community."
"Our data at ASCO this year underscore the potential of avelumab as a monotherapy treatment, as well as part of combination regimens," said Chris Boshoff, M.D., PhD, Senior Vice President and Head of Immuno-Oncology, Early Development, Translational Oncology, Pfizer Global Product Development. "Now with accelerated approvals in two indications for avelumab in the US, we are entering the next chapter of our clinical development program to provide meaningful new treatment options for patients who need them most."
Highlights of avelumab data at ASCO 2017 include the following:
- Preliminary data from the ongoing JAVELIN Merkel 200 trial, an open-label, multicenter study conducted in first-line mMCC investigating avelumab in patients who had no prior systemic treatment for mMCC, will be presented for the first time at a medical congress. - Data from a pooled analysis of two metastatic UC cohorts of the JAVELIN Solid Tumor trial, a Phase Ib, open-label, single-arm, multicenter study of avelumab in the treatment of various solid tumors, will be presented. - An oral presentation of results from the JAVELIN Renal 100 trial, a Phase Ib, open-label study evaluating the clinical activity and safety of the combination of avelumab and axitinib for the first-line treatment of advanced RCC. - Beyond mMCC, metastatic UC and RCC, the Merck-Pfizer Alliance will also showcase avelumab abstracts in non-small cell lung cancer, metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer, locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck and relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, as well as updated safety data in solid tumors.
The alliance's rapidly accelerating JAVELIN clinical development program now involves at least 30 clinical programs, including nine Phase III trials, and more than 5,200 patients across more than 15 tumor types. Results from JAVELIN program trials have supported two FDA accelerated approvals in 2017.
A list of accepted avelumab abstracts is included below. The abstracts are also available on the ASCO website [https://am.asco.org ].
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