
Roche's liquid biopsy pips Guardant's on companion nods
Friday’s US approval as a companion diagnostic for Amgen’s Kras inhibitor Lumakras is the third such nod for Guardant360 CDx. Guardant’s liquid biopsy can be used to pick out patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer whose tumours harbour the Kras G12C mutation, thought to be present in around 13% of this population. But Guardant360 CDx is some way behind Roche’s FoundationOne Liquid CDx, approved in the US for no fewer than seven drugs in four different cancers. A look at forecast sales, compiled by Evaluate Pharma, for these targeted therapies gives a loose indication of how the two tests might sell: the drugs with which Roche’s test may be used are forecast to generate $14.5bn of collective revenue in 2026, whereas the corresponding figure for Guardant’s assay is a comparatively paltry $10.8bn. Naturally not all patients with these cancers will respond to these therapies – the Alk arrangements amenable to treatment with Alecensa occur in just 3-7% of advanced NSCLC cases, for instance – but many more patients will undergo liquid biopsy testing.
Liquid biopsy US approvals as companion diagnostics | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Test (company) | Indication | Drug | 2021e sales by indication ($m) | 2026e sales by indication ($m) | Date of test approval as CDx |
Guardant360 CDx (Guardant Health) | NSCLC | Tagrisso | 5,355 | 9,059 | Aug 7, 2020 |
Rybrevant | - | - | May 21, 2021 | ||
Lumakras | 92 | 1,756 | May 28, 2021 | ||
FoundationOne Liquid CDx (Roche) | NSCLC | Iressa | 240 | 126 | Aug 26, 2020 |
Tagrisso | 5,355 | 9,059 | Aug 26, 2020 | ||
Tarceva | 98 | 40 | Aug 26, 2020 | ||
Alecensa | 1,707 | 2,122 | Oct 26, 2020 | ||
Prostate cancer | Rubraca | 19 | 185 | Aug 26, 2020 | |
Lynparza | 263 | 1,435 | Nov 6, 2020 | ||
Ovarian cancer | Rubraca | 174 | 419 | Oct 26, 2020 | |
Breast cancer | Piqray | 421 | 1,114 | Oct 26, 2020 | |
SBI = sales by indication. Source: Evaluate Pharma, FDA & company releases. |
This article has been corrected to remove a misattributed approval for FoundationOne Liquid CDx.