Who Will Win the Kidney Cancer Battle Between Bristol-Myers Squibb and Exelixis?

A head-to-head competition for market share in the renal cell carcinoma (RCC) market appears to be about to intensify. In one corner is Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY). With a market cap of over $100 billion and a history dating back to 1887, the big pharma has a lot of muscle to put behind its enormously successful cancer drug Opdivo.

In the other corner stands Exelixis (NASDAQ: EXEL). The biotech's market cap of roughly $8 billion and 23 years of operations make the company seem like an underdog in some ways. But Exelixis' Cabometyx is already making big waves as a second-line treatment for RCC, the most common form of kidney cancer. And Cabometyx could be headed toward approval in the first-line setting.

Which of these two companies is most likely to emerge as the champion in the battle for market share in RCC? Exelixis CEO Michael Morrissey's answer might surprise you.

Source: Fool.com