On June 19, 2019, Exelixis, Inc. (“Exelixis”) was informed by its collaboration partner Genentech, a member of the Roche Group (“Genentech”), that IMspire170, the phase 3 trial evaluating the combination of cobimetinib, an Exelixis-discovered MEK inhibitor, and atezolizumab, an anti-PDL1 antibody discovered and developed by Genentech, did not meet its primary endpoint of progression-free survival compared to pembrolizumab, a current standard of care, in patients with previously untreated BRAF V600 wild-type advanced melanoma.

IMspire170 showed the combination of cobimetinib and atezolizumab did not reduce the risk of disease progression or death compared to pembrolizumab. The safety profile observed in the trial was consistent with the known safety profiles of the individual medicines, and no new safety signals were identified with the combination. Genentech, the sponsor of IMspire170, informed Exelixis that Genentech intends to present results from the trial at an upcoming medical meeting.

About EXELIXIS, INC. (NASDAQ:EXEL)

Exelixis, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company. The Company is engaged in developing small molecule therapies for the treatment of cancer. It focuses on the development and commercialization of cabozantinib, an inhibitor of multiple receptor tyrosine kinases, in various tumor indications. Cabozantinib is indicated for the treatment of progressive, metastatic medullary thyroid cancer, and is sold under the brand name COMETRIQ. It is evaluating Cabozantinib in a development program, which consists of over 45 clinical trials, across multiple indications, including pivotal studies in advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Its other products are Cobimetinib and XL888. Cobimetinib is a potent, selective inhibitor of MEK, a kinase that is a component of the RAS/RAF/MEK/ERK pathway. XL888 is a small molecule oral inhibitor of Heat Shock Protein 90 (HSP90), a molecular chaperone protein that affects the activity and stability of a range of regulatory proteins.