Merck Sharp and Dohme receives new EU lung cancer approval for Keytruda

Merck Sharp and Dohme has announced that its cancer therapy Keytruda has been approved in Europe in a new indication.

The European Commission has approved the anti-PD-1 therapy for patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer whose tumours express PD-L1 and who have received at least one prior chemotherapy regimen.

Patients with EGFR or ALK-positive tumour mutations should also have received approved therapy for these mutations prior to being given Keytruda.

This approval was based on positive data from KEYNOTE-010, a pivotal study that showed Keytruda significantly improved overall survival rates compared to standard of care chemotherapy.

Dr Roger Dansey, senior vice-president and therapeutic area head for oncology late-stage development at Merck Research Laboratories, said: "This approval provides an important new treatment regimen for patients in Europe with advanced lung cancer, one of the most common and challenging cancers."

The drug was highlighted as one of the company's most important drivers for growth at present in its recent financial report for the second quarter of 2016.