By Ben GlickmanMerck & Co., Pfizer and Astellas Pharma have received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for using Keytruda in combination with Padcev to treat a form of bladder cancer. The decision was based on the results from a trial conducted in collaboration with Seagen, now owned by Pfizer, and Astellas. The new approval is specifically for Keytruda, Merck's immunotherapy drug, and Padcev, Seagen and Astellas' antibody-drug conjugate, in treating adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer. Merck said the trial showed a statistically significant improvement in its major efficacy endpoints of overall survival and progression-free survival when compared to platinum-based chemotherapy. Write to Ben Glickman at ben.glickman@wsj.com(END) Dow Jones NewswiresDecember 15, 2023 17:38 ET (22:38 GMT)Copyright (c) 2023 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

Source: Wall Street Journal December 16, 2023 10:44 UTC