Data boost ahead of FDA verdict on injectable Keytruda

28 March 2025

US pharma major Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK) has shared the first results from a late-stage trial of a subcutaneous version of its blockbuster immunotherapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab), with data presented Thursday at the European Lung Cancer Congress.

The formulation, which combines the firm’s flagship checkpoint blocker with berahyaluronidase alfa — a hyaluronidase enzyme from South Korea-based Alteogen (Kosdaq: 196170) — was shown to be as effective as intravenous Keytruda in the Phase III 3475A-D77 study.

Participants received the drug in combination with chemotherapy for first-line treatment of metastatic non-small cell lung cancer.

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