Article
November 11, 2015.
FDA News reports that FDA has granted breakthrough therapy designation to Merck’s Keytruda, an anti-PD-1 therapy for treating patients with microsatellite instability high metastatic colorectal cancer.
The breakthrough designation is based on Phase 2 data of the drug’s activity in cancers with microsatellite instability, a feature present in cells with certain types of DNA repair defects.
Merck is conducting a Phase 3 study of the drug in a treatment-naïve patient population.
Keytruda (pembrolizumab) previously was granted breakthrough status for advanced melanoma and advanced non-small cell lung cancer.
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