Roche's anti-TIGIT tiragolumab fails another major lung cancer study

Roche announced on Thursday that it is assessing whether adjustments are necessary for its ongoing studies of tiragolumab following another setback for the experimental anti-TIGIT immunotherapy. The latest disappointment for tiragolumab occurred with the failure of the Phase II/III SKYSCRAPER-06 trial. This trial was evaluating tiragolumab in combination with Roche's PD-L1 inhibitor Tecentriq (atezolizumab) and chemotherapy as a first-line treatment for patients with non-squamous non-small-cell lung cancer.

The company reported that the study did not achieve its primary goals of progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). The trial data indicated that the combination of tiragolumab, Tecentriq, and chemotherapy demonstrated reduced efficacy in both PFS and OS compared to the control group treated with Merck & Co.’s Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and chemotherapy. According to Roche, the hazard ratio (HR) for PFS in the primary analysis was 1.27, and the HR for OS in the first interim analysis was 1.33.

Levi Garraway, Roche’s head of global product development, expressed disappointment over the results, stating, "These results are disappointing as it was our hope that this combination might yield improved outcomes for people living with metastatic non-squamous lung cancer." Consequently, Roche has decided to discontinue the SKYSCRAPER-06 trial. However, the company highlighted that other Phase III studies are ongoing to explore different treatment contexts and indications.