Positive kidney cancer data could help Welireg reach full potential

18 August 2023

New Jersey, USA-based Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK) has reported positive top-line data from a trial of its oral HIF-2α blocker Welireg (belzutifan).

In 2021, Welireg was approved in the USA for the treatment of von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease, a rare kidney condition, with quarterly sales growing to the low tens of millions.

Merck is running the LITESPARK-005 trial with the goal of expanding the label to include the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) as a later-line treatment.

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