Merck releases new KEYTRUDA data

Merck has released new data involving KEYTRUDA, Merck’s anti-PD-1 therapy designed for the treatment of a number of blood cancers, and its investigational use.
This includes classical Hodgkin lymphoma as well as primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma. The data will be presented at the American Society of Hematology’s 58th annual meeting Dec. 3-6 in San Diego.
“There is an urgent need for new treatment approaches in blood cancers, especially for those patients who have relapsed or not responded to current therapies,” Merck Research Laboratories President Dr. Roger Perlmutter said. “We hope to learn that PD-1-directed immunotherapy may be used to help patients suffering from these difficult to treat malignancies.”
The clinical development program involving KEYTRUDA deals with more than 30 different type of tumors across approximately 360 clinical trials. More than 200 of these trials use a combination of KEYTRUDA and various types of cancer treatments.
For the trials that specifically target hematologic malignancies, Merck is evaluating the of monotherapy and combination regimens involving KEYTRUDA by conducting a wide range of immuno-oncology research. This program is made up of approximately 40 active clinical trials, including multiple registration-enabling trials.