Merck: Favezelimab/Keytruda Combo Study Misses Goal in Colorectal Cancer

By Colin Kellaher

Merck & Co. on Wednesday said a late-stage study of a combination including its blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda missed its goal in certain patients with colorectal cancer.

The Rahway, N.J., drugmaker said the Phase 3 study evaluating a fixed-dose combination of Keytrtuda and its investigational favezelimab antibody didn't meet its primary endpoint of overall survival in patients with previously treated PD-L1 positive microsatellite stable metastatic colorectal cancer.

Merck said the safety profile of the fixed-dose combination was consistent with prior studies, with no new safety signals observed, adding that it is conducting a full evaluation of the study data.

Merck is studying Keytruda, a cancer drug that harnesses a patient's immune system to fight tumors, in a raft of trials across a wide variety of cancers and treatment settings. The company is evaluating the Keytruda/favezelimab combination across multiple solid tumor types and in patients with relapsed or refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma.

Keytruda, which is approved in dozens of indications worldwide, generated sales of more than $25 billion last year.

Write to Colin Kellaher at colin.kellaher@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 25, 2024 07:20 ET (11:20 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.