The company paid twice Immunomedics’ last closing stock price to access Trodelvy, approved for triple-negative breast cancer with potential in other solid tumors as monotherapy and in combinations.

Lilly’s diabetes and oncology franchises epitomize the effects of the pandemic on pharmaceutical sales. For much smaller companies, these effects were magnified.

PD-1/PDL-1 inhibitors have not proved effective for ovarian cancer on their own or in combinations. Now Roche's Tecentriq, combined with the firm's blockbuster Avastin, has suffered a similar fate to Merck KGaA and Pfizer's Bavencio in failing to improve survival.

Lynparza has received the green light from the FDA for advanced prostate cancer, its fourth tumor type, and while it may not be the first PARP inhibitor to be approved for this indication, analysts are expecting the drug to lead the class.