Merck-Eisai Kidney Cancer Drug Combo Hits Key Trial Milestone

Merck & Co. and Eisai Co., Ltd. reported that their kidney cancer drug combo of Welireg and Lenvima met one main goal in a late?stage trial for advanced renal cell carcinoma.

The combo showed a significant improvement in progression?free survival (PFS) compared with the current standard treatment, Cabometyx. This result is important for patients whose cancer progressed after immunotherapy.

However, the kidney cancer drug combo has not yet shown a statistically significant improvement in overall survival (OS), the other primary endpoint. The companies noted a trend toward OS improvement, but further follow-up is needed to confirm the result.

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The trial enrolled about 708 patients who had prior anti?PD?1/PD?L1 therapy. From an industry perspective, the combo is important because it targets a high?unmet-need group of patients with advanced RCC. With upcoming patent expirations for treatments like Keytruda, Merck and Eisai are positioning this combo as a potential growth driver in renal oncology.

Safety results were consistent with previous studies, with no new adverse effects reported. The next steps will focus on full OS readouts, regulatory review, and comparison of safety and tolerability against existing options. The industry is watching closely to see how this combination will fit into the treatment landscape for advanced kidney cancer.