New Data Reaffirms Merck's Keytruda In Extending Survival In Melanoma Patients

Merck & Co Inc MRK announced new data from studies evaluating Keytruda (pembrolizumab) in melanoma patients.
The Company shared the data at the Society for Melanoma Research (SMR) 2021 Congress.
210 former participants of KEYNOTE-006 (158 patients treated with KEYTRUDA and 52 patients treated with ipilimumab) were assessed for a 7-year follow-up.
Findings from this long-term follow-up showed that median overall survival (OS) was 32.7 months for Keytruda and 15.9 months for Bristol-Myers Squibb Co's BMY Yervoy (ipilimumab).
The 7-year OS rates were 37.8% for Keytruda and 25.3% for ipilimumab.
Merck also shared data from the KEYNOTE-716 Phase 3 trial of Keytruda compared to placebo in adult and pediatric (12 years or older) patients with resected stage IIB or IIC melanoma.
At the protocol-specified second interim analysis (IA2), treatment with Keytruda continued to show a clinically meaningful improvement in recurrence-free survival (RFS) compared to placebo as adjuvant therapy, with a reduction in the risk of disease recurrence or death of 39%.
14.8% of patients who received Keytruda had a recurrence or died compared to 23.5% of patients on placebo.
Twice as many patients on placebo (12.3%) experienced distant recurrence than patients on Keytruda (6.4%).
Price Action: MRK shares are up 0.01% at $88.06 during the premarket session on the last check Monday.