Merck Hits Brakes On Anti-PD-1/TIGIT Study In Adjuvant Melanoma

Industry-wide, the combination of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors with TIGIT inhibitors has produced a mixed bag in terms of results.

• Source: Shutterstock

Merck & Co., Inc. is closing down the Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and vibostolimab coformulation arm of a Phase III melanoma trial after an analysis showed a higher dropout rate compared with the Keytruda-only arm due to adverse events, chalking up another loss for anti-PD-1/TIGIT combinations.

The Rahway, NJ-based drug maker said 13 May that a preplanned analysis of the KeyVibe-010 trial comparing the coformulation against...

Read the full article – start your free trial today!

Join thousands of industry professionals who rely on Scrip for daily insights

  • Start your 7-day free trial
  • Explore trusted news, analysis, and insights
  • Access comprehensive global coverage
  • Enjoy instant access – no credit card required

More from Clinical Trials

Another Day Another Win For Novartis’s Ianalumab – This Time In ITP

 
• By 

The Swiss drugmaker’s BAFF-R inhibitor and ADCC-mediated B-cell depletor candidate has chalked up another win in late-stage development, further strengthening its pipeline-in-a-product bid.

Pfizer/Astellas’s Padcev Scores First Big Win In Bladder Cancer Study

 

The drug, combined with Merck’s Keytruda, was successful among certain chemotherapy-ineligible MIBC patients, with another Phase III readout expected by March 2026.

IO Biotech Plans Cylembio Filing Despite ‘Narrowly Missed’ Phase III Endpoint

 
• By 

The company plans to meet with the US FDA prior to submitting a BLA before the end of 2025 for its cancer vaccine as a first-line advanced melanoma treatment in combination with Keytruda.

Sjögren’s Success For Ianalumab Shores Up Novartis’s Pipeline-In-A-Product Plans

 

Novartis has strengthened its argument that ianalumab, its BAFF-R inhibitor and ADCC-mediated B-cell depletor candidate, has PIP potential with successful topline results in two Phase III Sjögren’s syndrome trials, after recently dropping the product in hidradenitis suppurativa.

More from R&D

Pipeline Watch: Five Approvals And Two Phase III Readouts

Pipeline Watch is a weekly snapshot of selected late-stage clinical trial events and approvals announced by pharmaceutical and biotech companies at medical and industry conferences, in financial and company presentations, and in company releases and statements.

Genmab/AbbVie’s Epkinly Likely To See Label Expansion After Phase III Win

 

The FDA is expected to rule on the anti-CD20xCD3 bispecific combined with rituximab/lenalidomide in second-line follicular lymphoma in November.

Novartis’s ‘Pipeline-In-A-Product’ Assets Progressing Well

 
• By 

CMO Shreeram Aradhye talks to Scrip about the promise shown by ianalumab, remibrutinib and a next-generation CAR-T for immunological disorders.