Merck tees up US/European applications for letermovir after detailing PhIII antiviral success
Merck has unveiled the positive data behind its Phase III win for its antiviral letermovir. While it’s no panacea, the drug clearly outperformed a placebo in chopping down on the number of CMV infections suffered in the target population of patients. And now Merck plans to file for an approval later this year in Europe as well as the US.
Investigators recruited 495 CMV-seropositive patients who received a bone marrow transplant for the study, and tracked a 37.5% rate of CMV infections among the patients taking letermovir. In the placebo arm, the rate of infections was 60.6% at 24 weeks. And a key secondary — clinically significant CMV infections — clearly favored Merck’s drug: 19.1% compared to 50%.
Unlock this article instantly by becoming a free subscriber.
You’ll get access to free articles each month, plus you can customize what newsletters get delivered to your inbox each week, including breaking news.