Merck's Keytruda Claims Market Leadership In First-line Lung Cancer

Merck enjoyed a good second quarter, beating sales expectations for Keytruda and other drugs, which helped offset losses related to patent expirations.

3d illustration of T cells or cancer cells

Merck & Co. Inc.'s PD-1 inhibitor Keytruda performed well in the second quarter and has a dominant market position in first-line lung cancer with a 26% market share of new patient starts in the US – more than any other drug in that setting, the company reported July 28.

The company revealed above-consensus pharma sales of $8.8bn in the second quarter, up by 2% from the same period in...

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