Merck’s Keytruda fails head and neck cancer trial
2022.07.20 14:22
The logo for Merck & Co. is displayed on a screen at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, New York, U.S., November 17, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
(Reuters) – Merck & Co Inc said on Wednesday its cancer therapy Keytruda failed to meet the main goal of a late-stage trial testing it in patients with head and neck cancer.
The company said Keytruda, its blockbuster cancer drug, in combination with chemoraditation therapy showed improvement in event-free survival, or the period of time a patient remains free of complications compared to a placebo.
However, the results did not meet statistical significance.
Keytruda showed a safety profile similar to previously reported studies, according to Merck.
The drug belongs to a class of treatments called PD-1 inhibitors, which work by boosting the immune system’s ability to fight cancer cells.
