Excitement as Merck releases new data on cancer drug candidate pembrolizumab

The findings released at the 2014 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) conference in Chicago have caused something of a stir. Among these were early-stage results with US pharma giant Merck & Co’s (NYSE: MRK) pembrolizumab, the latest in a new generation of treatments that prevent cancers shielding themselves from the immune system.

Ana Nicholls, health care analyst at The Economist Intelligence Unit, commented: "The annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology is often used to present exciting new drug research, but the results for pembrolizumab seem particularly interesting. It is one of a relatively new class of immunotherapy drugs known as anti-PD-1s, which disable molecules used by tumours to evade attack from the patient's immune system. They are sometimes used in combination drugs that also target other immunity-evading molecules.”

She continued: “AstraZeneca, Roche, Bristol-Myers Squibb and in the case Merck have all invested heavily in research in this area over the past decade or more, and there are now eight or more of these drugs in clinical trials. These are not cures - in fact in some cases their ability even to prolong life is not yet proven - but they are very promising, if only because research in this area is developing so rapidly. Merck has already gathered enough evidence to file pembrolizumab for FDA approval for melanoma, but there are also high hopes that the drug could be used to treat lung cancer too. Given the number of people still dying from this disease, that would be extremely exciting."