Merck scraps two late-stage trials of cancer drug Keytruda

[August 30, 2024]  (Reuters) - Merck has stopped two separate late-stage studies of its immunotherapy Keytruda in patients with skin and lung cancers, the company said on Thursday, marking the latest set of trial failures for the blockbuster drug.

The company has been seeking to test Keytruda in combination with other treatments and expand its use in types of cancers not yet treated by immunotherapies, as the drug faces loss of patent protection at the end of the decade.

A trial of the drug in patients with an advanced type of skin cancer called cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma was stopped for "futility", meaning it was likely to fail, the company said.

The drug also did not help extend how long patients remain free of complications when it was tested for stage 1 or 2 of non-small cell lung cancer in combination with a type of radiotherapy.

"Unmet needs remain across different types of cancer and stages of disease," said Marjorie Green, head of oncology, global clinical development at Merck Research Laboratories.

"That is why we continue our rigorous exploration of innovative treatment approaches in cancers with high unmet need."

This year, Merck's combination immunotherapy of vibostolimab and Keytruda faced two separate trial discontinuations when evaluated as treatments for lung and skin cancer.

The Merck logo is seen at a gate to the Merck & Co campus in Rahway, New Jersey, U.S., July 12, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

In recent months, the Keytruda-AstraZeneca Lynparza combination and Keytruda with Eisai's Lenvima also failed separate trials as cancer treatments.

Keytruda belongs to a class of medicines called PD-1 inhibitors that work by increasing the ability of the body's immune system to help detect and fight tumor cells.

(Reporting by Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)

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