Excellently-"Fierce" Analysis -- Of What's To Come: German Merck v. US Merck -- In The Bladder Cancer Arena...

Since I dogged-out the pharma-focused outlet (in an actually smallish matter, about misreading tea-leaves, in the CMS / HHS suit filed by Merck), earlier in the past week -- it is only fair that I prove my point: the outlet is generally excellent.

Do go read it all, but here is the paper's take on coming bladder (and other) oncology wars for market share -- involving ultimately the US Merck, head to head, against the unaffiliated German KGaA. Sweet:

. . .Adding Opdivo to chemotherapy significantly extended the lives of patients with newly diagnosed bladder cancer who are eligible for cisplatin-based chemo, a phase 3 study has shown. The combo also did better at staving off tumor progression than chemo alone, BMS said Tuesday.

The latest win comes after the same phase 3 trial, coded CheckMate-901, found Opdivo’s pairing with BMS’ own CTLA-4 inhibitor Yervoy didn’t work in bladder cancer patients whose tumors express the PD-L1 biomarker.

Now, the positive result will likely give BMS a chance to challenge Merck KGaA in bladder cancer. The German company’s Bavencio is currently a standard of care as a maintenance therapy in patients who have responded to an initial round of platinum-based chemo. Cisplatin is a type of platinum chemo. . . .

Even more competition could be on its way. Industry watchers are keeping a close eye on the phase 3 EV-302 trial for the combination of Merck’s Keytruda with Astellas and Seagen’s antibody-drug conjugate Padcev in front-line bladder cancer — regardless of cisplatin eligibility. That study is expected to read out later this year. . . .

Now you know. Onward, grinning. . . to a fine Sunday midday, for a lazy bike ride by the lake.

नमस्ते