(Reuters) -Merck has discontinued testing a combination of an experimental antibody-based drug and its blockbuster immunotherapy, Keytruda, for some patients with the most severe form of skin cancer in a late-stage study, it said on Monday.
The decision followed an analysis that showed the trial will not achieve the main goal of statistically significant improvement in recurrence-free survival, Merck said.
The company will unblind the study and recommend patients receiving the combination treatment be offered Keytruda monotherapy.
The experimental anti-TIGIT drug, vibostolimab, along with Keytruda failed to significantly slow disease progression in lung cancer patients in a late-stage study last year.
(Reporting by Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid and Sriraj Kalluvila)
