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Oct 28, 2025 4:00 PM

Merck's New Cancer Therapy Combo Shows Significant Edge Over Rivals In Renal Cancer

On Tuesday, Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE:MRK) and Eisai shared topline data from the Phase 3 LITESPARK-011 trial of the dual oral regimen of Welireg (belzutifan) plus Lenvima (lenvatinib).

The trial met one of its primary endpoints of progression-free survival (PFS) for patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) whose disease progressed on or after treatment with anti-PD-1/L1 therapy.

At a pre-specified interim analysis, Welireg plus Lenvima demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in PFS compared to Exelixis Inc.’s (NASDAQ:EXEL) Cabometyx (cabozantinib).

PFS is the time during and after treatment that ...