Merck to Present Novel Oncology Data Across Early-Stage and New Tumor Types at ESMO 2025

       Raritan, New Jersey, USA2025Year10Month9Day——MSD (the corporate name of Merck & Co., Inc., located in Rahway, New Jersey, U.S.) announced that the company will present over 100 abstracts from its extensive and differentiated portfolio and pipeline at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress held in Berlin, Germany, from October 17 to 21. These abstracts cover more than 20 types of cancer and various treatment settings. The data demonstrate MSD's steadfast commitment to advancing research across multiple tumor types and improving patient outcomes.

      "The data presented at this year's ESMO Congress once again demonstrates the sustained impact and potential of pembrolizumab in specific cancer types, as well as highlights the progress we have made in rapidly advancing our pipeline, particularly with the release of significant data on multiple investigational antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs)."Senior Vice President of Merck & Co., Inc. Laboratories, Head of Global Clinical Development for OncologyMarjorie GreenPh.D."We are particularly proud that at this year's ESMO Congress, research on oncology drugs for bladder cancer, ovarian cancer, and lung cancer was selected for discussion in three Presidential Symposia."

      Data from the company’s product portfolio to be presented at this conference will include findings from pembrolizumab.^[1]、Lenvatinib in collaboration with Eisai^[2], Beizutifan^[3], as well as pembrolizumab and berahyaluronidase alfa-pmph^[4]Brand new or updated data.

Will be inESMOKey data from MSD's product portfolio presented at the conference include:

      In addition, the pipeline data to be presented at the conference include the ADC drug raludotatug deruxtecan (R-DXd) co-developed with Daiichi Sankyo.^[8]And ifinatamab deruxtecan (I-DXd)^[9]; and the TROP-2-targeted antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) Sac-TMT (Lukansatuzumab) co-developed with Kelun Biotech^[10]Will showcase research advancements in specific patients with lung cancer, breast cancer, cervical cancer, and prostate cancer across four sharing sessions.

InESMOKey abstracts of the R&D pipeline disclosed at the meeting include:

More will be inESMOKey abstracts released at the meeting include:

Regarding the Collaboration among Astellas, Pfizer, and MSD

     Astellas and Seagen have entered into a clinical collaboration agreement with MSD to evaluate the efficacy of Astellas and Seagen’s enfortumab vedotin in combination with MSD’s pembrolizumab for the treatment of adult patients with previously untreated locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer. Pfizer completed its acquisition of Seagen on December 14, 2023.

Regarding the Collaboration between Daiichi Sankyo and MSD

      In October 2023, Daiichi Sankyo and MSD reached a global collaboration. Except for Daiichi Sankyo retaining exclusive rights in Japan, the two companies will jointly conduct clinical development and commercial promotion of patritumab deruxtecan (HER3-DXd), ifinatamab deruxtecan (I-DXd), and raludotatug deruxtecan (R-DXd). Daiichi Sankyo will be fully responsible for product manufacturing and supply. In August 2024, the two parties further expanded their global co-development and commercial promotion collaboration to include gocatamig (MK-6070/DS3280). Except for MSD retaining exclusive rights in Japan, the two companies will jointly develop and promote the drug worldwide. MSD will be fully responsible for the manufacturing and supply of gocatamig. 

Regarding the Strategic Collaboration between Eisai and MSD

      In March 2018, Eisai and MSD (MSD is the corporate name of Merck & Co., Inc., located in Rahway, New Jersey, USA) initiated a strategic collaboration through their subsidiaries for the global co-clinical development and commercial promotion of lenvatinib. Under the agreement, the two companies will jointly pursue clinical development, manufacturing, and commercial promotion of lenvatinib as a monotherapy or in combination with MSD’s PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab. Eisai and MSD are currently evaluating the combination of lenvatinib and pembrolizumab across multiple clinical trials involving various cancer types within the LEAP series of clinical programs.

About MSD's Early-Stage Cancer Clinical Program

      Early detection and treatment of cancer can help patients achieve a greater chance of long-term survival. Currently, many cancers are considered treatable and potentially curable at an early stage of the disease. Based on the understanding of pembrolizumab for the treatment of various advanced cancers, MSD is conducting approximately 30 registrational studies to explore the use of its product portfolio and pipeline for the treatment of various early-stage cancers. 

About MSD

      At MSD (the corporate name of Merck & Co., Inc. in New Jersey, U.S.), we are united in our pursuit of a shared mission: harnessing the power of leading-edge science to save and improve lives around the world. For over 130 years, we have brought hope to humanity through the development of important medicines and vaccines. We are committed to being a top-tier research-intensive biopharmaceutical company — today, we stand at the forefront of research and development, delivering innovative solutions to advance the prevention and treatment of diseases in humans and animals. We have built a diverse and inclusive global workforce that operates responsibly every day, ensuring a safe, sustainable, and healthy future for all people and communities. For more information, please visitwww.msd.com, and follow us on X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, and YouTube platforms. 

About MSD China

      China is a crucial part of MSD's global growth strategy. MSD’s China headquarters is located in Shanghai, with a research and development center in Beijing and manufacturing plants in Hangzhou, Ningbo, and Tianjin, integrating R&D, manufacturing, and commercial operations. We are fully committed to providing high-quality innovative medicines, vaccines, and services to the people of China, benefiting Chinese society. For more information, please visit MSD China's official website or follow MSD China's official social media account on WeChat. 

MSD Forward-Looking Statements

      MSD's global headquarters is located in Rahway, New Jersey, USA (hereinafter referred to as "the Company"). This press release contains "forward-looking statements" made under the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The content herein is based on the current views and expectations of the Company’s management and is subject to significant risks and uncertainties. MSD does not guarantee that its investigational products will receive the necessary regulatory approvals or achieve commercial success. Should underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements.

      Risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, general industry conditions and competition, general economic factors (including interest rate and currency fluctuations), the recent global outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the impact of pharmaceutical industry regulations and healthcare policies in the United States and other countries, the global trend toward controlling healthcare costs, technological advancements, new products and patents obtained by competitors, inherent challenges in new product development (including obtaining regulatory approval), MSD's ability to accurately predict future market conditions, difficulties or delays in production, instability in international economic and financial conditions and sovereign risks, reliance on the effectiveness of MSD’s patents and other innovative product protections, as well as the risk of patent litigation and/or regulatory actions against the company.

      MSD has no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements due to new information, future events, or other reasons. Other factors may cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. For more information, see MSD's 2024 Annual Report on Form 10-K and other documents filed by the company with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (available at www.sec.gov).

[1]As of now, the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) has approved the following indications for pembrolizumab, and other indications have not yet been approved:

[2]As of now, the NMPA has approved the following indications for lenvatinib, and other indications have not been approved yet:

[3]As of now, the NMPA has approved Belzutifan for the treatment of adult patients with von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease-associated renal cell carcinoma (RCC), central nervous system (CNS) hemangioblastomas, or pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (pNET) who do not require immediate surgical intervention.

[4]As of now, Pembrolizumab and Berahyaluronidase alfa-pmph have not been approved by the NMPA.

[5]Collaboration with Astellas/Pfizer

[6] In collaboration with the European Network for Gynaecological Oncology Trial (ENGOT) groups and the GOG Foundation, Inc. (GOG)

[7]Collaboration with Eisai

[8]As of now, raludotatug deruxtecan has not been approved by the NMPA.

[9]As of now, ifinatamab deruxtecan has not been approved by the NMPA.

[10]The marketing authorization holder of Lukang Satuzumab is Sichuan Kelun Botai Biopharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

[11]Collaboration with Daiichi Sankyo

[12]Led by Kelun-Biotech in China

[13]Collaboration with Gilead

[14]In Collaboration with Genmab/Pfizer

[15]Collaboration with IO Biotech

[16] In collaboration with National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program

[17] In collaboration with Taiho Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd and Astex Pharmaceuticals (UK), a wholly owned subsidiary of Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd