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European Commission Approves Merck’s KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) Plus Chemotherapy for New First-Line Indications in Advanced HER2-Negative Gastric or GEJ Adenocarcinoma in Tumors Expressing PD-L1 (CPS ≥1) and Advanced Biliary Tract Cancer

Published: 2023-12-18 11:45:00 ET
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KEYTRUDA now approved for 26 indications in the EU, including seven in gastrointestinal cancers

RAHWAY, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, today announced the European Commission (EC) has approved two new indications for KEYTRUDA, Merck’s anti-PD-1 therapy, in gastrointestinal cancers:

  • KEYTRUDA in combination with fluoropyrimidine- and platinum-containing chemotherapy, for the first-line treatment of locally advanced unresectable or metastatic human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative gastric or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) adenocarcinoma in adults whose tumors express PD-L1 with a Combined Positive Score (CPS) ≥1;
  • KEYTRUDA in combination with gemcitabine and cisplatin for the first-line treatment of locally advanced unresectable or metastatic biliary tract carcinoma (BTC) in adults.

These approvals by the EC follow positive recommendations from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use received in October 2023 and November 2023 and were based on overall survival (OS) results from the Phase 3 KEYNOTE-859 and KEYNOTE-966 trials, respectively.

In KEYNOTE-859, KEYTRUDA plus chemotherapy significantly improved OS in the overall patient population, reducing the risk of death by 22% (HR=0.78 [95% CI, 0.70-0.87]; p