Drug companies Merck and Eisai are discontinuing a late-stage study of Keytruda plus Lenvima for people with unresectable or metastatic melanoma, as they showed no improvement in overall survival, they said last week.
The decision was based on the recommendation of an independent data monitoring committee after an interim analysis, said the companies, adding that improving overall survival had been one of the study’s dual main goals, reports Reuters.
An earlier interim analysis pertaining to the other main goal of progression-free survival had shown a statistically significant improvement in the Keytruda plus Lenvima arm, compared with the Keytruda plus placebo arm.
Equally disappointing was that another late-stage trial for Keytruda and Lenvima did not meet its main goal of overall survival for treating a type of colorectal or colon cancer.
Merck’s blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda belongs to the PD-1 inhibitors class, which increase the immune system to help detect and fight tumour cells.
Eisai’s Lenvima is a kinase inhibitor that blocks certain proteins from helping cancer cells grow and divide.
Merck estimates that there will be around 100 000 new cases of melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer, and about 8 000 deaths resulting from the disease in the US in 2023.
Reuters article – Merck, Eisai to discontinue late-stage study for skin cancer (Open access)
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