Merck Sharp and Dohme and Immune Design to launch new Keytruda studies

Merck Sharp and Dohme is allying with Immune Design to launch new clinical trials studying its drug Keytruda as part of possible new combination therapies.

The companies aim to evaluate the safety and efficacy of two Immune Design immuno-oncology investigative agents, G100 and LV305, separately combined with Keytruda in phase I trials in patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and melanoma, respectively.

In the first of these trials, an intratumoral administration of G100 will be combined with an intravenous administration of Keytruda in patients with follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma receiving local radiation.

Meanwhile, the second trial in melanoma will evaluate safety and response to the combination of LV305 and Keytruda in patients who have not yet responded to treatment with Keytruda alone after three months of treatment.

Roger Perlmutter, president of Merck Research Laboratories, said: "This collaboration with Immune Design adds to a broad clinical programme designed to explore the role of Keytruda in innovative immuno-oncology combinations."

Keytruda was approved in Europe as a therapy for first-line and previously-treated patients with advanced melanoma last month.