Date: 2016-06-28
Type of information: Initiation of the trial
phase: 3
Announcement: initiation of the trial
Company: Merck&Co (USA - NJ)
Product: pembrolizumab (MK-3475)
Action
mechanism: monoclonal antibody/immune checkpoint inhibitor. Keytruda® (pembrolizumab - MK-3475) is an investigational, highly selective monoclonal anti-PD-1 antibody designed to restore the natural ability of the immune system to recognize and target cancer cells by selectively achieving dual ligand blockade (PD-L1 and PD-L2) of the PD-1 protein. By blocking PD-1, MK-3475 enables activation of the immune system’s T-cells that target cancer by essentially releasing a brake on the immune system. MK-3475 is currently being studied in three clinical trials for advanced melanoma including a Phase III trial of MK-3475 versus ipilimumab in ipilimumab-naïve advanced melanoma patients (PN 006). Enrollment is complete in the advanced melanoma cohorts in the company’s Phase IB trial (PN 001) and the Phase II trial (PN 002) comparing two doses of MK-3475 versus chemotherapy in patients with advanced melanoma who have progressed after prior therapy. Pembrolizumab is being evaluated across more than 30 types of cancers, as monotherapy and in combination. It is anticipated that by the end of 2014, the pembrolizumab development program will grow to more than 24 clinical trials, enrolling an estimated 6,000 patients at nearly 300 clinical trial sites worldwide. In April 2013, MK-3475 has received a Breakthrough Therapy designation for advanced melanoma from the FDA. In October 2014, the FDA has gralso anted Breakthrough Therapy Designation to Keytruda® (pembrolizumab) for the treatment of patients with Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) mutation-negative, and Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase (ALK) rearrangement-negative non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose disease has progressed on or following platinum-based chemotherapy. In November 2015, the FDA has granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation to Keytruda® for the treatment of patients with microsatellite instability high (MSI-H) metastatic colorectal cancer. Keytruda® is the first approved drug that blocks the PD-1 cellular pathway. The Keytruda® clinical development program includes patients with more than 30 tumor types in more than 160 clinical trials, including more than 80 trials that combine Keytruda® with other cancer treatments. Registration-enabling trials of Keytruda® are currently enrolling patients in melanoma, NSCLC, head and neck cancer, bladder cancer, gastric cancer, colorectal cancer, esophageal cancer, breast cancer, Hodgkin lymphoma, multiple myeloma and other tumors, with further trials in planning for other cancers.
Disease: triple negative breast cancer (TNBC)
Therapeutic area: Cancer - Oncology
Country: Australia, Denmark, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Russian Federation, Spain, Taiwan, UK, USA
Trial
details: The KEYNOTE-355 study will consist of two parts. In Part 1, the safety of pembrolizumab (MK-3475) in combination with one of three different chemotherapies will be assessed in the treatment of locally recurrent inoperable or metastatic triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), which has not been previously treated with chemotherapy. In Part 2, the safety and efficacy of pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy will be assessed compared to the safety and efficacy of placebo plus chemotherapy in the treatment of locally recurrent inoperable or metastatic TNBC, which has not been previously treated with chemotherapy. The primary hypotheses are that the combination of pembrolizumab and chemotherapy prolongs Progression-Free Survival (PFS) compared to placebo and chemotherapy in all participants and in participants with programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) positive tumors, and prolongs Overall Survival (OS) compared to placebo and chemotherapy in all participants and in participants with PD-L1 positive tumors. (NCT02819518)
Latest
news: * On June 28, 2016, a Phase 3 trial sponsored by Merck&Co was published on the NIH website ClinicalTrials.gov for pembrolizumab and is currently recruiting participants.
