Merck Lays Out Keytruda Data In Post Surgery Early-Stage Lung Cancer Setting

Merck & Co Inc (NYSE: MRK) announced results from the Phase 3 KEYNOTE-091 trial evaluating Keytruda compared to placebo for adjuvant treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

• The trial included patients with stage IB (≥4 centimeters) to IIIA NSCLC following surgical resection (lobectomy or pneumonectomy) and with adjuvant chemotherapy when indicated.
• The data exhibited that adjuvant treatment with Keytruda significantly improved disease-free survival (DFS), reducing the risk of disease recurrence or death by 24% compared to placebo regardless of PD-L1 expression. 
• Median DFS was 53.6 months for Keytruda versus 42.0 months for placebo, an improvement of nearly one year. 
• There was also an improvement in DFS for patients whose tumors express PD-L1 treated with Keytruda compared to placebo; these results did not reach statistical significance. Among these patients, median DFS was not reached in either arm. 
• Additionally, a favorable trend in overall survival (OS) was observed for Keytruda versus placebo regardless of PD-L1 expression. These OS data are not mature and did not reach statistical significance during this interim analysis. 
• Price Action: MRK shares closed 1.05% higher at $78.94 on Thursday.