Merck releases updated KEYTRUDA data

Merck has released updated data from two clinical trials designed to assess KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab), its anti-PD-1 therapy developed to treat patients who have relapsed or refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL).
“As the data mature from these two studies, we continue to be encouraged by the response rates, including complete remission and durable responses, in patients with relapsed or refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma,” Merck Research Laboratories Senior Vice President and Therapeutic Area Head of Oncology Late-stage Development Dr. Roger Dansey said.
In the KEYNOTE-087 trial, KEYTRUDA had an overall response rate (ORR) or 69 percent and in the KEYNOTE-013 trial, the drug showed an ORR of 58 percent. The KEYTRUDA program targets more than 30 types of tumors.
“When patients with classical Hodgkin lymphoma do not respond to standard of care chemotherapy or autologous stem cell transplantation, the cancer is difficult to successfully treat. For these patients, who are often in their 20s and 30s, the need to identify new treatment options is urgent,” Memorial Sloan Keetering Cancer Center Clinical Director of the Division of Hematologic Oncology Dr. Craig Moskowitz said. “These data are promising and show that pembrolizumab may provide meaningful clinical benefit to patients with this disease.”