Merck announced on Thursday that it has halted two late-stage clinical trials of its immunotherapy drug Keytruda, aimed at treating skin and lung cancers. These setbacks mark the latest in a series of failed trials for the widely used drug. As Keytruda faces potential patent expiration by the decade’s end, Merck has been exploring its use in combination with other therapies to treat cancers not currently addressed by immunotherapies.
One of the discontinued trials involved patients with advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer. The study was stopped due to “futility,” indicating that it was unlikely to produce positive results. Another trial involving patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer, where Keytruda was combined with a form of radiotherapy, also failed to show benefits in delaying disease progression.
As reported by medicaldialogues.in, despite these failures, Marjorie Green, head of oncology and global clinical development at Merck Research Laboratories, emphasized the continued need for innovative cancer treatments. “There are still unmet needs across various cancer types and stages,” she stated, reinforcing Merck’s commitment to exploring new therapeutic approaches.
Earlier this year, Merck also scrapped two separate trials of a Keytruda and vibostolimab combination for lung and skin cancer treatments. Additionally, recent trials of Keytruda combined with AstraZeneca’s Lynparza and Eisai’s Lenvima have also been unsuccessful.
Keytruda, a PD-1 inhibitor, works by enhancing the immune system’s ability to detect and fight tumor cells.