Merck's Keytruda As Adjuvant Treatment Improves Disease-Free Survival In Lung Cancer Setting

Merck & Co Inc MRK has announced that the Phase 3 KEYNOTE-091 trial, investigating Keytruda, met one of its dual primary endpoints in NSCLC patients following surgical resection regardless of PD-L1 expression.

• Adjuvant treatment with Keytruda resulted in a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in disease-free survival (DFS) compared with placebo in stage IB-IIIA non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
• At the interim analysis, there was also an improvement in DFS for patients whose tumors express PD-L1 (tumor proportion score [TPS] ≥50%) treated with Keytruda compared to placebo; however, this dual primary endpoint did not meet statistical significance.
• The trial will continue to analyze DFS in patients whose tumors express high levels of PD-L1 (TPS ≥50%) and evaluate overall survival (OS), a key secondary endpoint.
• Price Action: MRK shares are up 0.24% at $80.49 during the premarket session on Monday's last check.