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FDA Approves Merck’s KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) Plus Chemotherapy as First-Line Treatment for Locally Advanced Unresectable or Metastatic HER2-Negative Gastric or Gastroesophageal Junction (GEJ) Adenocarcinoma

Published: 2023-11-16 22:40:00 ET
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Approval based on results from the Phase 3 KEYNOTE-859 trial, which demonstrated significant improvement in overall survival in these patients versus chemotherapy alone

Approval marks seventh gastrointestinal cancer indication for KEYTRUDA-based regimens and 38th indication for KEYTRUDA in the US

RAHWAY, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved KEYTRUDA, Merck’s anti-PD-1 therapy, in combination with fluoropyrimidine- and platinum-containing chemotherapy, for the first-line treatment of adults with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative gastric or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) adenocarcinoma.

The approval is based on data from the Phase 3 KEYNOTE-859 trial, in which KEYTRUDA plus chemotherapy reduced the risk of death by 22% (HR=0.78 [95% CI, 0.70‑0.87]; p