Merck's therapy extends survival in hard-to-treat uterine cancer patients
MRK•Merck's experimental drug sac-TMT reduced the risk of death by 32% in a late-stage trial of patients with advanced endometrial cancer, extending median survival to 19 months versus 12.1 months with chemotherapy. The FDA accepted the drug for priority review, with a decision expected by June 2027.
1. Trial results
The trial enrolled 776 patients whose endometrial cancer had returned or progressed after earlier treatment. Patients received sac-TMT or physician-selected chemotherapy; sac-TMT reduced the risk of cancer progression or death by 41%, with median progression-free survival of 7.2 months versus 3.9 months. Tumors shrank in about 35% of sac-TMT patients and 17% of chemotherapy patients.
2. Safety and review
Severe treatment-related side effects affected about 54% of sac-TMT patients, compared with 41% receiving chemotherapy, and about 3% stopped treatment because of side effects. The drug delivers a cancer-killing payload to cells carrying TROP2, a protein common in endometrial tumors. Merck is developing it with Kelun-Biotech, which discovered the therapy; Jefferies analysts project peak sales of roughly $900 million in endometrial cancer and $9 billion across potential indications.
