Key Keytruda data drives Merck & Co up by 5%

It was a happy Monday morning for shareholders in US pharma giant Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK) as its stock value soared by 5% to $56.27 by lunchtime.

Markets were digesting the importance of new data on the company’s immuno-oncology blockbuster Keytruda (pembrolizumab), results that suggested that taking the drug alone is more effective than chemotherapy in lung cancer.

Keytruda, which recorded revenue of $3.81 billion in 2017, is already seen as a frontrunner in the massive lung cancer market, and this new research suggests that it could allow patients to avoid the side effects that often accompany chemotherapy. The trial data also reflects favorably compared to Bristol-Myers Squibb’s (NYSE: BMS) rival immunotherapy, Opdivo (nivolumab), which failed in a similar study.