Pfizer and Merck KGaA commence new lung cancer drug trial

Pfizer and Merck KGaA have jointly launched a new phase III clinical trial assessing the investigational cancer immunotherapy avelumab as a lung cancer therapy.

The JAVELIN Lung 100 is designed to assess the safety and efficacy of avelumab compared with platinum-based doublet chemotherapy in patients with late-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have not previously received any treatment.

Approximately 420 patients will be enrolled across more than 240 sites in Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe, with the primary endpoint of the study being progression-free survival in patients with PD-L1-positive tumours.

This is the second randomised phase III study of avelumab in NSCLC initiated in just over six months, following the launch of another trial in April 2015.

Dr Mace Rothenberg, senior vice-president of clinical development and medical affairs and chief medical officer for Pfizer Oncology, said: "There is great promise for the use of immunotherapy in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer and this new trial underscores our continuing commitment to investigating potential immune-based treatment options for this devastating disease."

This comes after the firm announced a new pharmaceutical development and manufacturing technology alliance with GlaxoSmithKline earlier this week.