Hint of gloss comes off Keytruda as trials are halted
Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK) looked set to open 1% down on Thursday at around $63.50 after some rare bad news relating to Keytruda (pembrolizumab).
The anti-PD-1 therapy has been leading the immuno-oncology charge in multiple cancer types, but the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday placed a clinical hold on three multiple myeloma studies of Keytruda in combination with other drugs.
This decision follows a review of data by the Data Monitoring Committee in which more deaths were observed in the Keytruda arms of the KEYNOTE-183 and KEYNOTE-185 studies, leading to the pause in new patient enrollment announced last month.
This article is accessible to registered users, to continue reading please register for free. A free trial will give you access to exclusive features, interviews, round-ups and commentary from the sharpest minds in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology space for a week. If you are already a registered user please login. If your trial has come to an end, you can subscribe here.
Login to your accountTry before you buy
Free
7 day trial access
- All the news that moves the needle in pharma and biotech
- Exclusive features, podcasts, interviews, data analyses and commentary from our global network of life sciences reporters.
- Receive The Pharma Letter daily news bulletin, free forever.
Become a subscriber
£820
Or £77 per month
- Unfettered access to industry-leading news, commentary and analysis in pharma and biotech.
- Updates from clinical trials, conferences, M&A, licensing, financing, regulation, patents & legal, executive appointments, commercial strategy and financial results.
- Daily roundup of key events in pharma and biotech.
- Monthly in-depth briefings on Boardroom appointments and M&A news.
- Choose from a cost-effective annual package or a flexible monthly subscription
The Pharma Letter is an extremely useful and valuable Life Sciences service that brings together a daily update on performance people and products. It’s part of the key information for keeping me informed
Chairman, Sanofi Aventis UK
More on this story...
Today's issue
Company Spotlight
More Features in Biotechnology
Copyright © The Pharma Letter 2025 | Headless Content Management with Blaze