New Monotherapy Data For Merck & Co.’s KEYTRUDA (Pembrolizumab) In Heavily Pre-Treated Patients With Advanced Gastric Cancer To Be Presented At 2017 ASCO Annual Meeting

KENILWORTH, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced findings from Cohort 1 of the phase 2 registrational KEYNOTE-059 trial investigating KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab), the company’s anti-PD-1 therapy, as monotherapy in previously-treated patients with advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma. Results showed an overall response rate (ORR) of 11.6 percent (95% CI, 8.0-16.1) in patients treated with KEYTRUDA who had received two or more prior lines of treatment, with higher response rates among patients with PD-L1 positive tumors. The results will be presented at the 2017 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Chicago in an oral presentation on Sunday, June 4 from 9:00 - 9:12 a.m. CDT (Location: Hall D2) (Abstract #4003).

Data from this Cohort support Merck’s supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for KEYTRUDA – currently under Priority Review with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) – seeking approval for the treatment of patients with recurrent or advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma who have already received two or more lines of chemotherapy.

Advanced gastric cancer is difficult to treat and there is a significant need to identify new treatment options for these patients,” said Charles S. Fuchs, M.D., MPH, lead investigator and director of Yale Cancer Center. “The findings from this study showed meaningful response rates for KEYTRUDA in heavily pre-treated patients, who have historically faced poor outcomes.”

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