Merck & Co.’s Keytruda/Inlyta Combo Invades Kidney Cancer Territory

Oct 18 2018

• By Alex Shimmings

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Merck & Co.’s IO powerhouse Keytruda has trumped Bavencio’s recent Inlyta combo PFS win in kidney cancer, with a OS and PFS combo hit of its own. But the field is getting increasingly crowded.

Military — Merck & Co. Is Marching On Another New Indication

PD-1/L1 competition is heating up in the new battleground of kidney cancer, as Merck & Co. Inc. announced its Keytruda (pembrolizumab) in combination with Pfizer Inc.’s tyrosine kinase inhibitor Inlyta (axitinib) has hit both overall and progression-free survival endpoints in the Phase III KEYNOTE-426 study in first-line advanced/metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

An interim analysis has revealed statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in OS and PFS, compared to sunitinib monotherapy, with...

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