Merck Is Counting On Keytruda To Establish Its Anti-TIGIT Drug

Coming out of the 2020 American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting, Merck & Co. Inc. is getting some credit for the potential of its TIGIT inhibitor vibostolimab, which it is studying in combination with other checkpoint inhibitors – Keytruda and a CTLA-4 inhibitor – in non-small cell lung cancer and melanoma. At least one analyst sees this candidate leading the space along with Roche’s tiragolumab, and presumably ahead of at least six other firms with anti-TIGIT agents in clinical development.

During a summary presentation after ASCO on 2 June, Merck Research Laboratories president Roger Perlmutter was mostly circumspect about the TIGIT program, saying vibostolimab (MK-7684) is early in development, but asserting that using it in combination with the firm’s PD-1 inhibitor Keytruda (pembrolizumab) is likely to produce a better therapeutic profile than a Roche duo of tiragolumab and PD-L1 inhibitor Tecentriq (atezolizumab). Roche’s Phase II CITYSCAPE trial in non-small cell lung cancer garnered significant attention going into ASCO