Roche keeps the faith in new cancer immunotherapy despite trial setbacks

Now Roche is at the vanguard of research into a new type of immune-activating treatment with an experimental drug called tiragolumab. While early testing showed promise, more recent data from two late-stage trials in lung cancer has disappointed, raising questions among experts whether tiragolumab will live up to expectations. Roche’s results also impact other drugmakers like Bristol Myers, Gilead, GSK and Novartis, which have poured hundreds of millions of dollars into researching drugs like tiragolumab.