Bristol, Merck, Roche immune therapies are cancer meeting focus

When the world’s leading cancer doctors meet in Chicago next month, new treatments from Merck & Co, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co and Roche Holding AG that help the immune system fight disease are expected to capture much of the spotlight. The drugs, known as anti-PD-1 or anti-PDL1 therapies, are biotech medicines that work by blocking a tumor’s ability to camouflage itself, thereby allowing T cells in the immune system to recognize and attack the cancer. At the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago beginning May 30, researchers will for the first time present data on Roche’s anti-PDL1 drug in advanced bladder cancer for which there have been few advances in decades. Merck will have no less than 16 studies involving its highly touted anti PD-1 drug, MK-3475, including a first look at the drug as an initial lung cancer treatment.