Data For KEYTRUDA (Pembrolizumab) Across 16 Types Of Cancer From Merck & Co.’s Industry-Leading Immuno-Oncology Program To Be Presented At The 2017 ASCO Annual Meeting
Research with KEYTRUDA in Monotherapy and in Combination Includes Findings in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC), Melanoma, Urothelial Carcinoma, Microsatellite-Instability High (MSI-H) Cancers, Gastric Cancer and Breast Cancer
New Overall Survival Data to be Presented in NSCLC, Melanoma and Urothelial Carcinoma
KENILWORTH, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Merck (NYSE:MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced that new and updated data from studies of KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab), the company’s anti-PD-1 therapy, will be presented at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago, June 2 – 6, 2017. At this year’s meeting, researchers will present data from more than 50 abstracts investigating the use of KEYTRUDA as monotherapy and in novel combinations across 16 cancers, including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), melanoma, urothelial carcinoma, microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) cancers, gastric cancer and breast cancer. Additional longer-term progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) data for KEYTRUDA in monotherapy and as a combination therapy in first-line NSCLC from KEYNOTE-024 and KEYNOTE-021G will be presented. As noted in the abstracts, in KEYNOTE-024 significant improvement in OS was maintained with KEYTRUDA compared to chemotherapy with a longer follow-up of approximately six months; and in KEYNOTE-021G with more than five months of additional follow-up, a trend for improved OS with KEYTRUDA in combination with pemetrexed and carboplatin (pem/carbo) was observed when compared to pem/carbo alone, despite high rates of patient cross-over. Additional data on these findings will be presented at the meeting.
“Our data at ASCO bring to life the potential of KEYTRUDA across many different cancer types as both monotherapy and in combination, and underscore the remarkable progress that is being made in the fight against cancer,” said Dr. Roy Baynes, senior vice president and head of global clinical development, Chief Medical Officer, Merck Research Laboratories. “In particular, we continue to show improved survival outcomes in the first-line treatment of both melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer, and we highlight clinical collaboration data that explore the potential of novel immunotherapy combinations as a treatment for patients with cancer.”