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Merck’s KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) Receives New Approvals in Japan for Certain Patients With Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinoma (NSCLC) and Radically Unresectable Urothelial Carcinoma

Published: 2024-09-25 10:30:00 ET
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New approval in Japan for KEYTRUDA regimen in the perioperative setting for certain patients with NSCLC based on results from KEYNOTE-671

Approval in Japan also demonstrates KEYTRUDA’s important role in combination with other therapies and as monotherapy in certain patients with urothelial carcinoma, based on results from KEYNOTE-A39 and KEYNOTE-052, respectively

RAHWAY, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, today announced that the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) has approved new indications for KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab), Merck’s anti-PD-1 therapy, in certain lung and urothelial cancers:

  • KEYTRUDA in combination with chemotherapy as a neoadjuvant treatment, then continued as monotherapy as an adjuvant treatment, for patients with non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) based on results from the Phase 3 KEYNOTE-671 trial;
  • KEYTRUDA in combination with Padcev (enfortumab vedotin-ejfv) for the first-line treatment of patients with radically unresectable urothelial carcinoma based on results from the Phase 3 KEYNOTE-A39 trial (also known as EV-302), which was conducted in a research collaboration with Pfizer (previously Seagen) and Astellas;
  • KEYTRUDA monotherapy in patients with radically unresectable urothelial carcinoma who are not eligible for any platinum-containing chemotherapy based on results from the Phase 2 KEYNOTE-052 trial.

“For certain patients in Japan who are diagnosed with resectable non-small cell lung carcinoma and radically unresectable urothelial carcinoma, there is a need for new, effective treatment options,” said Dr. Marjorie Green, senior vice president and head of oncology, global clinical development, Merck Research Laboratories. “With these new approvals, we look forward to providing KEYTRUDA as monotherapy and in combination with other treatment regimens as we aim to address the unmet needs of these patients.”

Approval as perioperative treatment regimen in non-small cell lung carcinoma The approval of KEYTRUDA in combination with chemotherapy as a neoadjuvant treatment, then continued as monotherapy as an adjuvant treatment for patients with NSCLC is based on results from the Phase 3 KEYNOTE-671 trial. In this study, KEYTRUDA plus chemotherapy in the neoadjuvant setting followed by KEYTRUDA as monotherapy after surgical resection significantly improved overall survival (OS), reducing the risk of death by 28% (HR=0.72 [95% CI, 0.56-0.93]; one-sided p=0.00517) in patients with stage II, IIIA or IIIB NSCLC, regardless of PD-L1 expression, versus placebo plus chemotherapy in the neoadjuvant setting followed by placebo after surgical resection at a median follow-up of 29.8 months (range, 0.4 to 62.0 months). For patients who received the KEYTRUDA-based regimen, median OS was not reached (95% CI, NR-NR) versus 52.4 months (95% CI, 45.7-NR) for patients who received the chemotherapy-placebo regimen. The KEYTRUDA-based regimen also improved event-free survival, reducing the risk of disease recurrence, progression or death by 42% (HR=0.58 [95% CI, 0.46-0.72]; p

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