Merck and Pfizer commence study of renal cell carcinoma therapy

Merck and Pfizer have commenced a new clinical trial of a promising new combination treatment regimen for advanced renal cell carcinoma.

The first patient in the JAVELIN Renal 101 trial has now been treated with the new combination of avelumab and Inlyta. It is the first study currently evaluating an anti-PD-L1 immunotherapy in combination with a VEGF-receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor in this setting.

In total, the study will enroll 583 patients across approximately 170 sites in Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America. It comes as part of a wider clinical development programme for avelumab that now includes more than 1,600 patients and spans more than 15 tumour types.

The five-year survival rate for patients with distant metastatic renal cell carcinoma is approximately 12 percent, meaning there is a strong need for new therapeutic options.

Dr Alise Reicin, head of global clinical development at the biopharma business of Merck, said: "We are exploring the potential of innovative, rational combination therapies, which combine avelumab with other treatment modalities to address significant unmet needs that exist in challenging cancers."