Health

KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) Plus WELIREG® (belzutifan) Given as Adjuvant Therapy Reduced the Risk of Disease Recurrence or Death by 28% Compared to KEYTRUDA Monotherapy in Certain Patients With Earlier-Stage Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC)

RAHWAY, N.J., February 28, 2026--KEY + WEL as Adjuvant Therapy Reduced the Risk of Disease Recurrence or Death Compared to KEYTRUDA Mono in Certain Patients With Earlier-Stage RCC

articleMerck & Company, Inc.February 28, 202670/company/merck-and-company-inc/news/keytrudar-pembrolizumab-plus-weliregr-belzutifan-given-as-adjuvant-therapy-reduced-the-risk-of-disease-recurrence-or-death-by-28percent-compared-to-keytruda-monotherapy-in-certain-patients-with-earlier-stage-renal-cell-carcinoma-rcc
KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) Plus WELIREG® (belzutifan) Given as Adjuvant Therapy Reduced the Risk of Disease Recurrence or Death by 28% Compared to KEYTRUDA Monotherapy in Certain Patients With Earlier-Stage Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC)

About this update from Merck & Company, Inc.

[{"type":"image","alt":"","displaySize":"","headline":null,"caption":"","credit":null,"className":"","disableSlideshowImg":false,"size":{"original":{"width":480,"height":217,"url":"https://media.zenfs.com/en/business-wire.com/0d5dce99227b26eddda63b9559dc4a32"},"resized":{"url":"https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/_0vsORz3MBoyKZ3SBlTXLw--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTQzNDtjZj13ZWJw/https://media.zenfs.com/en/business-wire.com/0d5dce99227b26eddda63b9559dc4a32","width":480,"height":217}},"lazy":false},{"type":"text","content":"This is the first positive Phase 3 trial for WELIREG in earlier-stage disease, the first positive results for a HIF-2α inhibitor and immunotherapy combination and the first study in earlier-stage disease, regardless of tumor type, to demonstrate a disease-free survival improvement compared to KEYTRUDA","length":302,"tagName":"p","attribs":{}},{"type":"text","content":"Based on these data, the U.S. FDA has accepted for priority review supplemental applications for WELIREG in combination with KEYTRUDA or KEYTRUDA QLEX™ for the adjuvant treatment of certain patients with RCC","length":207,"tagName":"p","attribs":{}},{"type":"text","content":"RAHWAY, N.J., February 28, 2026--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, today announced the presentation of results from the pivotal Phase 3 LITESPARK-022 trial evaluating KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab), Merck’s anti-PD-1 therapy, in combination with WELIREG® (belzutifan), Merck’s first-in-class, oral hypoxia-inducible factor-2 alpha (HIF-2α) inhibitor, given in the adjuvant setting, for patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC) following nephrectomy. These late-breaking data will be presented for the first time today during an oral abstract session at the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Genitourinary (GU) Cancers Symposium (abstract #LBA418) and are included in the official ASCO GU Press Program.","length":780,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"text","content":"At the first pre-specified interim analysis (median follow-up of 28.4 months [range, 15.0-40.1 months]), KEYTRUDA plus WELIREG given in the adjuvant setting significantly improved disease-free survival (DFS), the study’s primary endpoint, reducing the risk of disease recurrence or death by 28% (HR=0.72 [95% CI 0.59-0.87]; p=0.0003) compared to KEYTRUDA plus placebo. Median DFS w...

More updates from Merck & Company, Inc.

KEYTRUDAKEYTRUDAadult patientsAdverse ReactionsKEYTRUDA QLEXAdverse Reactions