Merck Jumps Into Lucrative Adjuvant NSCLC Space With Keytruda Data

Merck & Co., Inc. is jumping into the potentially lucrative market of adjuvant treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with new Phase III data for Keytruda (pembrolizumab) that sets the PD-1 inhibitor up as a competitor to Roche Holding AG’s PD-L1 inhibitor, Tecentriq (atezolizumab). However, there is some question about how closely the two drugs will compete based on the magnitude of Keytruda’s benefit in patients with high PD-L1 expression, despite the drug’s efficacy in a broader range of patients.

Merck & Co. announced interim data on 17 March from the KEYNOTE-091 trial showing a statistically significant improvement on the...