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Merck Receives Positive EU CHMP Opinion for KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) Plus Padcev® (enfortumab vedotin-ejfv) as Perioperative Treatment for Adults With Cisplatin-Ineligible Resectable Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer
Merck Receives Positive EU CHMP Opinion for KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) Plus Padcev® (enfortumab vedotin-ejfv) as Perioperative Treatment for Adults With
About this update from Merck & Company, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"\nMerck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, today announced the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) adopted a positive opinion recommending approval of KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab), Merck’s anti-PD-1 therapy, in combination with Padcev® (enfortumab vedotin-ejfv), an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC), as neoadjuvant treatment and then continued after radical cystectomy as adjuvant treatment, for adults with resectable muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) who are ineligible for cisplatin-containing chemotherapy. This recommendation, which also includes KEYTRUDA SC® [known as KEYTRUDA QLEX™ (pembrolizumab and berahyaluronidase alfa-pmph) in the U.S.], will now be reviewed by the European Commission (EC) for marketing authorization in the European Union (EU), Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, and a final decision is expected by the third quarter of 2026.\n\n\n“Patients in Europe with resectable muscle-invasive bladder cancer who are ineligible for cisplatin-containing chemotherapy have limited treatment options and are at high risk for disease recurrence,” said Dr. Marjorie Green, senior vice president and head of oncology, global clinical development, Merck Research Laboratories. “This positive CHMP recommendation brings us closer to a new chapter of patient care – one that could address this significant unmet need by offering a KEYTRUDA-based regimen both before and after surgery, based on the compelling results from KEYNOTE-905.”\n\n\nThe recommendation is based on results from the Phase 3 KEYNOTE-905 trial (also known as EV-303), which was conducted in collaboration with Pfizer and Astellas. In the study, KEYTRUDA plus Padcev, as perioperative treatment, demonstrated statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in event-free survival (EFS), overall survival (OS) and pathologic complete response (pCR) rate versus surgery alone in patients with MIBC who are not eligible for or declined cisplatin-based chemotherapy. The KEYTRUDA plus Padcev regimen reduced the risk of EFS events by 60% (HR=0.40 [95% CI, 0.28-0.57]; p<0.0001) versus surgery alone. Median EFS was not reached [NR] (95% CI, 37.3-NR) for the KEYTRUDA plus Padcev regimen versus 15.7 months (95% CI, 10.3-20.5) for surgery alone. KEYTRUDA plus Padcev also reduced the risk of deat...