Merck hits the brakes on development program as safety fears trigger alarm
In a surprise setback, Merck has slammed the brakes on the development of an experimental HIV drug — including a Phase II trial — after investigators flagged a drop in immune cell counts that an external committee determined was related to treatment.
The Phase II study that first sounded the alarm, dubbed IMAGINE-DR, was testing the once-weekly combination of MK-8507 (a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor) and islatravir, or ISL, a nucleoside reverse transcriptase translocation inhibitor.
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