Merck's Keytruda extends life for cervical cancer patients in first-in-class win

For three years, Merck & Co.’s Keytruda has been the only immuno-oncology drug allowed to treat cervical cancer. Now, thanks to a new clinical win, Merck aims to move Keytruda up the treatment line and beat out upcoming competition.

Adding Keytruda to chemotherapy with or without Roche’s Avastin for the first-line treatment of cervical cancer significantly extended patients’ lives in a phase 3 trial, Merck said Tuesday. The Keytruda regimen also performed better at staving off cancer progression in the study, dubbed Keynote-826, the company said.