Merck pulls the plug on a study evaluating blockbuster Keytruda with Yervoy for NSCLC
About a month ago, upon touting new oncology data, Merck reaffirmed its commitment to exploring new Keytruda combinations for lung cancer patients. The Big Pharma has now pulled the plug on one of those combinations, after interim data showed an increased risk and no reward.
An independent Data Monitoring Committee urged Merck to end a Phase III trial evaluating cash cow Keytruda — which brought in $11.1 billion last year — and Bristol Myers Squibb’s Yervoy (ipilimumab) in PD-L1 positive metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. In an interim analysis, the combination showed no incremental benefit in overall survival (OS) or progression-free survival (PFS), the study’s two primary endpoints.
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