Claim: Merck KGaA, Pfizer's immuno-drug shown to alleviate kidney cancer
Verdict: REFUTES

Retrieved passages:
title: Kidney cancer
text: as freezing the tumour or treating it with high temperatures may be used. However these are not yet used as standard treatments for kidney cancer. Other treatment options include biological therapies such as everolimus, torisel, nexavar, sutent, and axitinib, the use of immunotherapy including interferon and interleukin-2. Immunotherapy is successful in 10 to 15% of people. Sunitinib is the current standard of care in the adjuvant setting along with pazopanib; these treatments are often followed by everolimus, axitinib, and sorafenib. Immune checkpoint inhibitors are also in trials for kidney cancer, and some have gained approval for medical use. In the

title: Evofosfamide
text: obtain reimbursement. Each cancer indication has a number of established medical therapies with which evofosfamide will compete, for example: Threshold relies on third-party contract manufacturers for the manufacture of evofosfamide to meet its and Merck KGaA’s clinical supply needs. Any inability of the third-party contract manufacturers to produce adequate quantities could adversely affect the clinical development and commercialization of evofosfamide. Furthermore, Threshold has no long-term supply agreements with any of these contract manufacturers and additional agreements for more supplies of evofosfamide will be needed to complete the clinical development and/or commercialize it. In this regard, Merck KGaA has to enter

title: Axitinib
text: Axitinib Axitinib (AG013736; trade name Inlyta) is a small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor developed by Pfizer. It has been shown to significantly inhibit growth of breast cancer in animal (xenograft) models and has shown partial responses in clinical trials with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and several other tumour types. It was approved for RCC by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration after showing a modest increase in progression-free survival, though there have been reports of fatal adverse effects. It has received approval for use as a treatment for renal cell carcinoma from US FDA (27 January 2012), EMA (13 September

title: Cancer vaccine
text: of a phase III clinical trial. The approval is for a subset of kidney cancer patients who are at intermediate risk for disease recurrence. It awaits approval in the US and EU. but will need a new trial for FDA approval. Interim results from a phase III trial of talimogene laherparepvec in melanoma showed a significant tumour response compared to administration of GM-CSF alone. Oncophage was approved in Russia in 2008 for kidney cancer. It is marketed by Antigenics Inc. Sipuleucel-T, Provenge, was approved by the FDA in April 2010 for metastatic hormone-refractory prostate cancer. It is marketed by Dendreon

title: Axitinib
text: 2012), UK MHRA (3 September 2012) and Australian TGA (26 July 2012) . A Phase II clinical trial showed good response in combination chemotherapy with gemcitabine for advanced pancreatic cancer. However, Pfizer reported on January 30, 2009 that Phase III clinical trials of the drug when used in combination with gemcitabine showed no evidence of improved survival rates over treatments using gemcitabine alone for advanced pancreatic cancer and halted the trial. In 2010, a Phase III trial for previously treated metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) showed significantly extended progression-free survival when compared to sorafenib. In December 2011, the Oncologic Drugs

title: Merck Group
text: chemicals to the electronics industry. In September 2014 Merck halted the clinical development of two drug candidates in development with Oxygen Biotherapeutics. One drug candidate suffered a lack of success in patient recruitment, with its MUC1 antigen-specific cancer immunotherapy drug, tecemotide (L-BLP25), missing its Phase I/II endpoint of increasing overall survival in patients with Stage III non-small cell lung cancer. Later in September it was announced that the company would acquire Sigma-Aldrich for $17 billion. After the acquisition was completed in 2015, Merck has around 50,000 employees. In November 2014, Merck and Pfizer agreed a deal for the latter to

title: Renal cell carcinoma
text: a method that activates the person's immune system and uses it to their own advantage. It was developed after observing that in some cases there was spontaneous regression. Immunotherapy capitalises on this phenomenon and aims to build up a person's immune response to cancer cells. Other targeted therapy medications inhibit growth factors that have been shown to promote the growth and spread of tumours. Most of these medications were approved within the past ten years. These treatments are: Activity has also been reported for ipilimumab but it is not an approved medication for renal cancer. More medications are expected to

title: Kalos Therapeutics
text: effects associated with chemotherapeutic or small molecule compounds. KT-220, the current lead drug candidate, demonstrates remarkably broad anti-cancer activity. KT-220 has inhibited the growth of pancreatic, lung, prostate, breast, ovarian, colon, and melanoma cells in culture and of pancreatic, breast, and lung cancer tumors in models of human cancer. George Colberg - Chairman & CEO James Merritt, M.D. - President and Chief Medical Officer Gregory F. Witchel, MBA - Executive Vice President Daniel Von Hoff, MD, FACP - Chairman, Scientific Advisory Board David L. Vesely, MD, PhD - Scientific Advisory Board Marc B. Garnick, MD - Scientific Advisory Board Patrice

title: Pfizer
text: was reported that Pfizer had reignited a $100 billion takeover bid for the UK-based AstraZeneca, sparking political controversy in the UK, as well as in the US. On May 19, 2014, a "final offer" of £55 a share was rejected by the AstraZeneca board, which said the bid was too low and imposed too many risks. If successful, the takeover—the biggest in British history—would have made Pfizer the world's largest drug company. Hopes for a renewed bid later in the year were dashed when Pfizer signed a major cancer drug deal with Merck KGaA, selling its sharing rights to develop

title: History of cancer chemotherapy
text: Despite showing promise in preclinical studies, the agent had little antitumour activity in early clinical trials, and dosing was limited by kidney toxicity: its lactone ring is unstable at neutral pH, so while in the acidic environment of the kidneys it becomes active, damaging the renal tubules. In 1996 a more stable analogue, irinotecan, won Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the treatment of colon cancer. Later, this agent would also be used to treat lung and ovarian cancers. Cisplatin, a platinum-based compound, was discovered by a Michigan State University researcher, Barnett Rosenberg, working under an NCI contract. This

title: Garo H. Armen
text: by the results from animal testing; the vaccine cured 80% of mice in the early stages of cancer with virtually no side effects. By February 2000, Antigenics went public at $18 a share, raising $72.5 million. A few months later the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) agreed to review the vaccine on an accelerated schedule when the company filed for approval, and Antigenics began recruiting 728 patients with kidney cancer for the phase 3 trial, the largest study conducted in the world. Ultimately, 118 cancer centers participated in the trial, 63 of them outside the U.S.. The largest group

title: Avelumab
text: Immunotherapy aims at ceasing this immune blockage by blocking those receptor ligand pairs. In the case of avelumab, the formation of PD-1/PDL1 ligand pairs is blocked and CD8+ T cell immune response should be increased. PD-1 itself has also been a target for immunotherapy. Therefore, avelumab belongs to the group of immune checkpoint blockade cancer therapies. As of May 2015, according to Merck KGaA and Pfizer, avelumab has been in Phase I clinical trials for bladder cancer, stomach cancer, head and neck cancer, mesothelioma, NSCLC, ovarian cancer and renal cancer. For Merkel-cell carcinoma, Phase II has been reached and for

title: Oncophage
text: Oncophage Oncophage (brand name Vitespen), also known as "cancer vaccine heat shock protein peptide complex-96" and "cancer vaccine HSPPC-96", is a personalized cancer vaccine developed by the American biopharmaceutical company Antigenics Inc. (now Agenus) that is evaluated in multiple clinical trials. It has been granted fast track and orphan drug designations from the US Food and Drug Administration for kidney cancer, metastatic melanoma, and glioma. The investigational agent is not yet approved in the US but was approved in Russia in April 2008 for patients who have earlier-stage kidney cancer. The European Medicines Agency is evaluating conditional approval for Oncophage.

title: Programmed cell death protein 1
text: of the drug to submit application to the FDA for approval for use in these diseases. On October 2, 2015 Pembrolizumab was approved by FDA for advanced (metastatic) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients whose disease has progressed after other treatments. Other drugs in early stage development targeting PD-1 receptors (checkpoint inhibitors) are Pidilizumab (CT-011, Cure Tech) and BMS-936559 (Bristol Myers Squibb). Both Atezolizumab (MPDL3280A, Roche) and Avelumab (Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany & Pfizer) target the similar PD-L1 receptor. Drugs targeting PD-1 in combination with other negative immune checkpoint receptors, such as (TIGIT), may augment immune responses and/or facilitate HIV

title: Cetuximab
text: in Israel, challenged the Aventis-owned patent, licensed by Imclone, for the use of anti-epidermal growth factor receptor antibodies in combination with chemotherapy, to slow the growth of certain tumors which was filed in 1989 by Rhone-Poulenc-Rorer. The court ruled that Yeda is sole owner of the patent in the U.S., while Yeda and Sanofi-Aventis co-own the patent's foreign counterparts. Cetuximab is given by intravenous therapy and costs up to $30,000 for eight weeks of treatment per patient. Merck KGaA had 887 million euros ($1.15 billion) in Erbitux sales in 2012, from head and neck as well as bowel cancer, while

title: Sorafenib
text: Sorafenib Sorafenib (co-developed and co-marketed by Bayer and Onyx Pharmaceuticals as Nexavar), is a kinase inhibitor drug approved for the treatment of primary kidney cancer (advanced renal cell carcinoma), advanced primary liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma), and radioactive iodine resistant advanced thyroid carcinoma. Sorafenib is a small inhibitor of several tyrosine protein kinases, such as VEGFR, PDGFR and Raf family kinases (more avidly C-Raf than B-Raf). Sorafenib treatment induces autophagy, which may suppress tumor growth. However, autophagy can also cause drug resistance. At the current time sorafenib is indicated as a treatment for advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC), unresectable hepatocellular carcinomas

title: Abituzumab
text: of Abituzumab began to stabilize at 250 mg, which may suggest saturable first-order elimination kinetics. Volume of distribution remained constant between 4.1 - 5.9 L at all doses of Abituzumab, which indicates minimal distribution in the tissue. Anti-abituzumab antibodies were observed in 19% of patients, however, researchers believe the development of these antibodies did not alter the pharmacokinetic profile of Abituzumab. In 2014 Merck KGaA acquired Sigma-Aldrich Corp. for approximately $17 billion. Before the acquisition, Sigma-Aldrich Corp. primarily produced laboratory testing and research materials. During the purchase, Merck KGaA agreed to pay $140/share, which was 37% above the valued share

title: Merck & Co.
text: Merck & Co. announced it would spend $95 million up front on collaborating with cCAM Biotherapeutics and its lead candidate (an early-stage treatment similar to Keytruda). The company is due up to $510 million more, which is tied to clinical, regulatory and commercial milestones. Merck & Co. will bring in CM-24, an antibody designed to block the immune checkpoint CEACAM1. In January 2016 Merck & Co. announced two new partnerships; the first with Quartet Medicine and its small molecule pain treatments, the second with Complix investigating intracellular cancer targets, with both collaborations potentially generating up to $595 million and $280

title: Exelixis
text: In December 2017, the FDA granted approval for the use of cabozantinib for first line treatment of kidney cancer and in May 2018 approval for first-line treatment was approved in Europe. Exelixis Exelixis, Inc. is a genomics-based drug discovery company located in Alameda, California, and the producer of Cometriq, a treatment approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for medullary thyroid cancer with clinical activity in several other types of metastatic cancer. Exelixis was founded in 1994; the scientific founders were Spyridon Artavanis–Tsakonas, at Yale at that time, and Corey Goodman and Gerry Rubin who were then at

title: Crizotinib
text: Crizotinib Crizotinib (trade name Xalkori, Pfizer) is an anti-cancer drug acting as an ALK (anaplastic lymphoma kinase) and ROS1 (c-ros oncogene 1) inhibitor, approved for treatment of some non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) in the US and some other countries, and undergoing clinical trials testing its safety and efficacy in anaplastic large cell lymphoma, neuroblastoma, and other advanced solid tumors in both adults and children. Crizotinib has an aminopyridine structure, and functions as a protein kinase inhibitor by competitive binding within the ATP-binding pocket of target kinases. About 4% of patients with non-small cell lung carcinoma have a chromosomal rearrangement