Merck's Keytruda Loss In Liver Cancer Could Be Gain For Rivals

The drug demonstrates improvements in overall survival and progression-free survival, but not enough for success in KEYNOTE-240.

liver

The failure of Merck & Co. Inc.'s PD-1 inhibitor Keytruda in the KEYNOTE-240 confirmatory study in second-line hepatocellular cancer (HCC) stands in stark contrast to the drug's many successes and is likely to give competitors the upper hand in this tumor type.

Keytruda (pembrolizumab) is an enormously successful drug, bringing in $2.2bn in the fourth quarter of last year alone. (Also see...

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