The FDA has approved Roche (OTCQX:RHHBY) unit Genentech’s Tecentriq (atezolizumab), combined with chemo agents carboplatin and etoposide, for the first-line treatment of adult patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC), an aggressive type of lung cancer.
The combination of Tecentriq + Avastin (bevacizumab) + paclitaxel + carboplatin was previously approved for the first-line treatment of adults with metastatic non-squamous NSCLC with no EGFR or ALK mutations. Tecentriq is also approved for adults with metastatic NSCLC who have progressed during or following platinum-based chemo.
Regarding the FDA’s approval of Tecentriq in combination with chemotherapy for lung cancer, Alastair Smith, CEO of Avacta Group caught up with DirectorsTalk and commented:
“The FDA has approved Roche’s (Genentech’s) Tecentriq (atezolizumab), combined with chemo agents carboplatin and etoposide, for the first-line treatment of an aggressive form of lung cancer. Avacta’s anti-PDL1 Affimer (AVA004-251) has been shown to have comparable performance to atezolizumab in animal models and, through the collaboration with Tufts, Avacta now has access to powerful chemo agents to combine with their PDL1 programme in conjugates and combination therapies.”
Avacta Group plc (LON:AVCT) principal focus is on its proprietary Affimer® technology which is a novel engineered alternative to antibodies that has wide application in Life Sciences for diagnostics, therapeutics and general research and development.
Antibodies dominate markets worth in excess of $100bn despite their shortcomings. Affimer® technology has been designed to address many of these negative performance issues, principally; the time taken to generate new antibodies, the reliance on an animal’s immune response, poor specificity in many cases, and batch to batch variability. Affimer® technology is based on a small protein that can be quickly generated to bind with high specificity and affinity to a wide range of protein targets.
Avacta has a pre-clinical biotech development programme with an in-house focus on immuno-oncology as well as partnered development programmes. Avacta is commercialising non-therapeutic Affimer® reagents through licensing to developers of life sciences research tools and diagnostics.
