MRK Merck and Co Inc

By Kimberly Chin

Merck & Co. (MRK) said that an advanced trial of its cancer treatment Keytruda met one of its primary endpoints showing significant improvement in patients who used the drug in conjunction with chemotherapy.

The study offered first-line treatment of patients with extensive-stage, small-cell lung cancer. The company said the trial's results show that the combination had a significant improvement on patients compared with chemotherapy alone.

However, Merck said it didn't meet its other primary endpoint for a patient's overall survival, deeming results had little to no "statistical significance."

Keytruda is an anti-PD-1 therapy that helps increase the body's immune system so that it can detect and fight tumor cells. Merck is testing the treatment across multiple settings and stages of lung cancer.

Shares of Merck were off slightly by 0.7% at $90.99 in after-hours trading.

Write to Kimberly Chin at kimberly.chin@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 06, 2020 16:53 ET (21:53 GMT)

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