Merck KGaA calls it a day on third bintrafusp alfa trial

The prospects for bintrafusp alfa, a drug discovered in-house at Merck KGaA (MRK: DE) and being developed through a strategic alliance with GlaxoSmithKline (LSE: GSK), look increasingly uncertain.

Merck announced on Tuesday that a third trial investigating the cancer candidate had failed, and by lunchtime the German company’s share price was nearly 1% lower.

Based on a review of data conducted by the Independent Data Monitoring Committee (IDMC), Merck has decided to discontinue the Phase II INTR@PID BTC 055 study evaluating bintrafusp alfa with gemcitabine plus cisplatin in the first-line treatment of patients with locally-advanced or metastatic biliary tract cancer (BTC), as the study is unlikely to achieve the primary objective of overall survival.