Merck's KEYTRUDA Significantly Improves Survival Compared to Chemotherapy in Previously-Treated Patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Whose Tumors Express Any Level of PD-L1

Merck

today announced results from the pivotal KEYNOTE-010 study, the first study of its kind to evaluate the potential of an immunotherapy compared to chemotherapy based on prospective measurement of PD-L1 expression in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In the Phase 2/3 study, KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab), Merck's anti-PD-1 (programmed death receptor-1) therapy, significantly improved overall survival (OS) compared to chemotherapy in patients with any level of PD-L1 expression, as defined by a tumor proportion score (TPS) of 1 percent or more. The results were published in The Lancet and will be presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Asia 2015 Congress.