Positive Lung Cancer Trial Results Send Merck (MRK) Shares Higher
Author By Sophia VidaPosted on Merck’s Keytruda lung cancer drug just produced successful results in a Phase II/III trial, and investors were loving it.
Shares of Merck headed higher after Keytruda was revealed to demonstrate better survival rates when compared to traditional chemotherapy treatment in patients with previously untreated lung cancer.
The trial was restricted only to patients with at least 50% of lung tumors containing PD-L1, a protein found on tumor cells. A second trial then involved a combination of Keytruda and chemotherapy on a smaller group of patients, in which 55% of participants saw their tumors shrink in size.
Merk only has a couple of months to go until U.S. regulators are expected to decide whether to approve Keytruda for non-small cell lung cancer by Dec. 24.
Disclaimer: We have no position in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK) and have not been compensated for this article.
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