Arcus unveils kidney cancer data as it eyes Phase III challenge to Merck’s Welireg

Arcus Biosciences (NYSE: RCUS) is setting the stage for a high-stakes Phase III showdown in kidney cancer, after early results showed that nearly half of patients treated with its experimental therapy had a confirmed response.

The USA-based biotech presented fresh data from its Phase I/Ib ARC-20 trial at the ASCO annual meeting, spotlighting the potential of casdatifan, an oral HIF-2α inhibitor, combined with Exelixis’ (Nasdaq: EXEL) Cabometyx (cabozantinib). The trial involved patients with metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) who had progressed following immunotherapy.

The drug combo delivered an overall response rate of 46% among 24 efficacy-evaluable patients, with one complete and 10 partial responses. Just one patient experienced disease progression. According to lead investigator Toni Choueiri, “nearly half of patients had a confirmed response to the casdatifan plus cabozantinib combination despite short follow-up.”