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Merck's Keytruda Enjoys Clean Sweep In Lung Cancer, At Bristol's Expense

 
• By Emily Hayes

Merck came out ahead in the immuno-oncology combination showdown at AACR, with a strong overall survival benefit for Keytruda/chemo in the Phase III KEYNOTE-189 study in first-line NSCLC. The data were seen as practice-changing, but Bristol's CheckMate-227 trial of Opdivo/Yervoy failed to impress in the same way.

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Merck & Co. Inc.'s PD-1 inhibitor Keytruda has emerged as the clear winner in non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), with consistent and striking survival data for the combination of the drug with chemotherapy in the Phase III KEYNOTE-189 study, leaving an uncertain future for Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.'s competing Opdivo/Yervoy combination.

On April 16, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) meeting featured full data from landmark studies in first-line metastatic NSCLC. Merck's KEYNOTE-189 study compared Keytruda (pembrolizumab) with doublet chemotherapy...

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