Pfizer And Merck Go For An Even Longer Throw Of The Javelin

Pfizer and Merck KGaA’s tweaks to the Javelin Lung 100 study of their PD-L1 antibody avelumab, which will delay its readout by almost two years, look like a painful but necessary adjustment to commercial realities in this competitive cancer indication. The changes will more than double the size of the study, in first-line non-small cell lung cancer, and push data out to mid-2019.

Bristol-Myers Squibb stock sinks 7.2% after it says it won’t pursue…

The company said the decision was made “based on a review of the data available at this time,” and said it would say no more “in order to protect the integrity of ongoing registrational studies.” Leerink analyst Seamus Fernandez said the development was a “clear setback for BMY,” especially given a fall approval by rival drugmaker Merck in first-line lung cancer.