Gilead says Trodelvy with Merck’s Keytruda controls lung cancer
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images News
Gilead (NASDAQ:GILD) announced Sunday that its antibody-drug conjugate Trodelvy and Merckâs (NYSE:MRK) anti-PD-1 immunotherapy Keytruda cut tumor size in previously untreated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the commonest form of lung cancer.
Ahead of a presentation at the World Conference on Lung Cancer, the Foster City, California-based biotech said that the early readout indicated the potential of Trodelvy in lung cancer. The intravenously delivered injection is approved in the U.S. for certain breast and bladder cancer types.
Citing data from more than 60 patients who received Trodelvy and Keytruda with or without chemotherapy across two groups, Gilead (GILD) said that the drug combo led to a 56% objective response rate (ORR) and an 82% disease control rate (DCR).
However, 18% of patients discontinued the trial due to adverse events, and there was one treatment-related death.
The global trial known as EVOKE-02 enrolled patients with advanced or metastatic NSCLC without actionable genomic alterations. The preliminary analysis included patients who were categorized based on the level of tumor expression.
Bill Grossman, Gilead's (GILD) head of oncology, said that the readout validated the companyâs approach in the ongoing Phase 3 EVOKE-03 trial, which tests Trodelvy with Keytruda vs. Keytruda alone as a first-line option in PD-L1-high metastatic NSCLC.

More on Gilead 

Seeking Alphaâs Quant Rating on Gilead Sciences
Historical earnings data for Gilead Sciences
Dividend scorecard for Gilead Sciences
Financial information for Gilead Sciences
Pfizer Vs. Gilead Sciences: COVID-19 Battle Of Pharma Titans

Gilead Sciences, Inc. (GILD) Wells Fargo Healthcare Conference - (Transcript)
Gilead Sciences: Searching For A Catalyst
Gilead Sciences: Mixed Signals, Again
Gilead raised to Buy at Bank of America on untapped potential
Gilead Sciences prices $2B senior unsecured notes in a public offering
Gilead wins FDA nod to use Veklury for COVID-19 in liver disease
Gilead announces FDA partial hold on leukemia trial