Merck & Co. Inc. MRK said late Thursday that its combination therapy of vibostolimab and Keytruda did not outperform chemotherapy in a Phase 2 clinical trial of patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. The company also said the study did not meet the primary endpoint of progression-free survival, and it plans to continue to evaluate the combo therapy with docetaxel against docetaxel. “We were not surprised,” SVB Securities analyst Daina Graybosch told investors, later adding that she still expects the combination therapy may be successful in other, earlier settings. Merck’s stock is down 3.2% so far this year, while the broader S&P 500 SPX has gained 3.5%.
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