Dow component Merck (MRK) rose above the fray during a month-over-month decrease in immuno-oncology sales throughout the industry, swiping share from rival Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) as Roche (RHHBY) remained flat, industry analysts said Wednesday.
Four immuno-oncology drugs from Merck, Bristol-Myers and Roche brought in $464 million in February, declining 4% from $483 million in January, Leerink analyst Seamus Fernandez said, citing data from tracker Symphony Health.
But February was a shorter month, which could be partly responsible for the decrease, Fernandez said in a research report. Despite the slowdown, Merck's Keytruda sales grew 2% in February vs. the prior month.
Meanwhile, Bristol-Myers' drugs Opdivo and Yervoy held on to a collective 69% market share, falling 1% vs. January. Merck's Keytruda now has 24% of the market, up from 23% the prior month. Roche's Tecentriq was flat at 7% share.
Immuno-oncology drugs fight cancer by teaching the body's immune system to identify cancer cells hiding behind specific proteins. Those proteins are called checkpoints.
A number of checkpoints are being explored by AstraZeneca (AZN), Incyte (INCY) and others. Keytruda and Opdivo, the immuno-oncology market leaders, are also direct rivals. Both target the interaction between a PD-1 protein on an immune system cell and the PD-L1 protein on a cancer cell. Doing so allows the immune system to identify and destroy the cancer cell.
Both are approved to treat advanced lung cancer, melanoma, head and neck cancer, and classical Hodgkin lymphoma. Opdivo is also approved in kidney cancer and bladder cancer.
Yervoy, from Bristol-Myers, targets the CTLA-4 checkpoint. Roche's Tecentriq targets the PD-L1 protein on a cancer cell. Yervoy is approved to treat melanoma. Tecentriq is approved in lung cancer and bladder cancer.
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Merck's Keytruda saw a spike in sales in July 2016 after a key trial showed Keytruda is superior to chemotherapy in improving progression-free survival and overall survival in patients with advanced lung cancer. The trial was stopped early on strong efficacy.
Keytruda was approved in October for first-line advanced lung cancer for patients with a heavier concentrations of PD-L1 protein in their systems. Since then, "we continue to see a steady increase in U.S. sales estimates and market share," Fernandez said.
Tecentriq is also putting additional pressure on Opdivo following its approval as a second-line treatment for some advanced lung cancer patients in October, he said. But growth in Opdivo's newer approvals (liver cancer, Hodgkin lymphoma, head and neck cancer, and bladder cancer) should help offset that trend.
Merck stock finished 0.6% lower at 63.50 on the stock market today, as shares of Bristol-Myers rose 1.2% to 56.36. Roche stock edged up 0.4% to 31.55.
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