A mid-stage trial of Roche Holding AG's experimental immunotherapy showed that it doubled the likelihood of survival for lung cancer patients with the highest levels of a specific biomarker.
The drug, known by the code name MPDL3280A, is part of a new class designed to help the body's immune system fend off cancer by blocking a protein known as Programmed Death receptor (PD-1), or a related target known as PD-L1, used by tumors to evade the body's defenses.