Almost exactly a year ago, I reported that the large MARQUEE trial of EGFR inhibitor Tarceva (erlotinib) plus either the MET inhibitor tivantinib (ARQ-197) or placebo as second or third line treatment for advanced NSCLC had been discontinued after a planned interim analysis revealed that it wouldn't be statistically significantly superior for overall survival (OS), the primary endpoint of the trial.

One of the more promising agents for advanced NSCLC in the last few years has been the oral Met inhibitor tivantinib, also known as ARQ-197.

Continuing with the webinar discussion I had with Dr. Pennell, here is a summary I did of a randomized phase II trial of the novel agent ARQ-197 combined with the EGFR inhibitor Tarceva (erlotinib): ==================================== Dr. West: We're going to shift gears and move into the metastatic setting, and this is a new agent called ARQ197 that is orally available,

Earlier this week, the Boston (Woburn, actually)-based company Arqule announced preliminary results from a trial of their investigational oral c-MET inhibitor ARQ 197 combined with the EGFR inhibitor Tarceva (erlotinib), which sent their stock soaring. Although I and other investigators dislike learning about potentially important cancer trial outcomes from the business news outlets, this was again following that pattern.