BeiGene’s Tislelizumab Could Challenge Merck’s Keytruda in the Checkpoint Inhibitor Market

Earlier this week, BeiGene, with offices in Beijing, China and Cambridge, Massachusetts, announced results from its pivotal Phase III trial of its anti-PD-1 antibody tislelizumab in combination with two chemotherapy agents in squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The drug, a checkpoint inhibitor, met the primary endpoint of improved progression-free survival (PFS) at the planned interim analysis. If tislelizumab is approved, it sets the company on a collision course with the dominant player in the checkpoint inhibitor market, Merck and it’s Keytruda (pembrolizumab).