Doubling down on the Keytruda franchise, Merck pays $300M and promises $5B-plus to partner with Eisai on its budding cancer star
Impressed by the potential of a combo featuring Keytruda with Eisai’s star cancer drug Lenvima (lenvatinib mesylate), Merck $MRK has stepped up with $300 million in cash and a commitment of more than $5 billion in milestones to kick off a full slate of trials for the duo.
An oral TKI already approved for thyroid cancer and in combination with everolimus for kidney cancer, Eisai noted a little more than a month ago that their drug scored well in a Phase III study for first-line liver cancer. And Merck sees a big future for this drug tied to Keytruda, which is now involved in more than 700 clinical trials.
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