MERCK
24.6.2024 22:36:33 CEST | Business Wire | Press release
Merck, a leading science and technology company, today announced the discontinuation of the Phase III randomized TrilynX study evaluating xevinapant plus chemoradiotherapy (CRT) in patients with unresected locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (LA SCCHN). The decision follows a pre-planned interim analysis performed by the study’s Independent Data Monitoring Committee, which found that the trial would be unlikely to meet its primary objective of prolonging event-free survival. Top-line safety data were overall compatible with the chemo-radio sensitizing properties of xevinapant. The company will conduct an in-depth review of the data and will share the results in a peer-reviewed forum.
LA SCCHN has proven to be a difficult-to-treat form of cancer. CRT has remained the standard of care for decades, despite multiple studies designed to improve outcomes with new treatment approaches, including multiple immunotherapy trials.
“We sincerely thank the patients, caregivers and clinical investigators who participated in this trial,” said Danny Bar-Zohar, Global Head of Research & Development and Chief Medical Officer for the Healthcare business sector of Merck. “While we are disappointed by these results, we remain steadfast in our commitment to develop transformative medicines within our oncology portfolio for areas of high unmet need.”
Given the totality of the data, the company decided to also stop the Phase III clinical trial X-Ray Vision (xevinapant plus radiotherapy, compared to placebo plus radiotherapy) in patients who underwent resection of locally advanced head and neck cancer.
Merck is working to develop and deliver new treatment options that exploit the vulnerabilities of tumor cells. The company is exploring modalities including antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and DNA damage response (DDR) inhibitors, across multiple tumor types, including many that have proven difficult to treat where there are significant unmet needs for patients. The company’s support for the head and neck cancer community remains steadfast with Erbitux®, approved in combination with radiotherapy for the initial treatment of locally advanced SCCHN, and which continues to be studied in more than 200 active clinical trials, including at least 15 Phase III studies.
About Xevinapant
Xevinapant (formerly known as Debio 1143) is an investigational potent oral small-molecule IAP (inhibitor of apoptosis protein) inhibitor. In March 2021, Merck gained exclusive rights from Debiopharm International SA to develop and commercialize xevinapant worldwide. Xevinapant is not approved for any use anywhere in the world.
Advancing the Future of Cancer Care
At Merck we strive every day to improve the futures of people living with cancer. Our research explores the full potential of promising mechanisms in cancer research, focused on synergistic approaches designed to hit cancer at its core. We are determined to maximize the impact of our standard-of-care treatments and to continue pioneering novel medicines. Our vision is to create a world where more cancer patients will become cancer survivors. Learn more at www.merckgrouponcology.com.
About Merck
Merck, a leading science and technology company, operates across life science, healthcare and electronics. Around 63,000 employees work to make a positive difference to millions of people’s lives every day by creating more joyful and sustainable ways to live. From providing products and services that accelerate drug development and manufacturing as well as discovering unique ways to treat the most challenging diseases to enabling the intelligence of devices – the company is everywhere. In 2023, Merck generated sales of € 21 billion in 65 countries.
Scientific exploration and responsible entrepreneurship have been key to Merck’s technological and scientific advances. This is how Merck has thrived since its founding in 1668. The founding family remains the majority owner of the publicly listed company. Merck holds the global rights to the Merck name and brand. The only exceptions are the United States and Canada, where the business sectors of Merck operate as MilliporeSigma in life science, EMD Serono in healthcare, and EMD Electronics in electronics.
All Merck press releases are distributed by e-mail at the same time they become available on the Merck website. Please go to www.merckgroup.com/subscribe to register online, change your selection or discontinue this service.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240624549928/en/
About Business Wire
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Fortegra Appoints Iwan Röpcke as Chief Executive Officer, Belgium8.5.2026 09:30:00 CEST | Press release
The Fortegra Group, Inc., a global specialty insurer, today announced the appointment of Iwan Röpcke as Chief Executive Officer, Belgium. Mr. Röpcke brings more than 25 years of insurance industry experience to the role, spanning broking, commercial leadership, and executive management across the Benelux and broader European markets. He joins Fortegra from Lloyd’s Insurance Company S.A., where he served as Country Manager for Belgium and the Netherlands, building out the operation from its early stages and overseeing both business strategy and development. Prior to Lloyd's, Mr. Röpcke held senior leadership positions at Willis Towers Watson (via Gras Savoye), where he served as Head of Sales and Head of the Competence Center. His career also includes roles at Inter Partner Assistance (AXA Assistance) as Commercial Director Benelux, Winterthur Europe Assurances, AIG Europe, Aon Belgium, and Marsh. Mr. Röpcke’s industry expertise spans a range of specialty risk areas, with deep relations
KAYTUS Launches All-QLC Flash Storage at AI EXPO 2026 for 10,000-GPU Clusters8.5.2026 09:02:00 CEST | Press release
KAYTUS’s next-generation all-QLC flash solution delivers fully linear performance scaling for massive GPU clusters, while reducing TCO by 70%, enabling ultra-large-scale computing for the era of agentic AI. At AI EXPO KOREA 2026, KAYTUS officially launched its All-QLC Flash Storage Solution, engineered to deliver high performance, massive scalability, and cost efficiency for 10,000-GPU clusters. The solution addresses data-delivery bottlenecks in ultra-large-scale AI training, helping maximize GPU resource utilization. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260508313130/en/ Based on the KR2280 and KR1180 server platforms, the solution is deeply integrated with industry-leading AI-native parallel file systems to eliminate data silos inherent in traditional tiered storage. Purpose-built for read-intensive AI workloads, it overcomes the horizontal scaling limitations of massive clusters. Verified test-data shows that, a
Beneq Appoints Dr. Jason Harrison as Chief Executive Officer8.5.2026 09:00:00 CEST | Press release
Semiconductor industry leader takes the helm to accelerate Beneq’s next phase of growth in atomic layer deposition Beneq Oy, the home of atomic layer deposition (ALD), today announced the appointment of Dr. Jason Harrison as Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Harrison succeeds Dr. Tommi Vainio and will lead Beneq into its next phase of growth across semiconductor, optical, and emerging technology markets. A Strategic Leadership Transition Beneq enters its next phase of growth from a position of strong commercial momentum. Recent milestones include the qualification of the Beneq Transform® cluster tool for volume production of GaN power and RF filter devices; the introduction of Beneq Transmute™ and Beneq Transform® XP, both engineered for high-volume manufacturing (HVM) of specialty semiconductors; growing adoption of the P-Series for coating critical chamber parts in advanced node devices; and selection of the C2R™ for AR waveguide production in next-generation XR optics. Against this backd
World Employment Confederation’s 59th Annual Conference to Address Critical Global Labour Market Concerns8.5.2026 07:12:00 CEST | Press release
Senior leaders from policy, business and international institutions are set to discuss critical labour market concerns at the World Employment Confederation’s Annual Conference, during an era of global transformation and disruption never-before-seen. Taking place on 12-13 May in Toronto and entitled ‘Grow With Talent’, this year’s World Employment Conference – co-organised with ACSESS – arrives at a time of profound economic uncertainty. This gathering of leaders and experts will help define the path forward for the global labour market and set the stage for discussions at the 114th Session of the International Labour Conference (ILC) in June. Bettina Schaller, President of World Employment Confederation (WEC) says: “The question at the heart of this year’s World Employment Conference is: how will we mobilise the world’s talent to drive growth in an era of disruption?At a time of accelerating AI adoption, rapid demographic change and an uncertain global economic outlook, pressure on la
Esentia Announces Successful Pricing of 6.125% Senior Notes Due 2033 and 6.500% Senior Notes Due 20388.5.2026 03:24:00 CEST | Press release
Esentia Energy Development, S.A.B. de C.V. (“ESENTIA” or the “Company”), today announced the pricing of U.S.$1,000,000,000.00 aggregate principal amount of its 6.125% Senior Notes due 2033 (the “2033 Notes”) and U.S$1,000,000,000.00 aggregate principal amount of its 6.500% Senior Notes due 2038 (the “2038 Notes” and, together with the 2033 Notes, the “Notes”) to be issued by the Company in a private offering to qualified institutional buyers in accordance with Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and outside the United States to non-U.S. persons in accordance with Regulation S under the Securities Act. The 2033 Notes will be issued at a price of 99.517%, and the 2038 Notes will be issued at a price of 98.444%. The 2033 Notes mature on July 30, 2033, and the 2038 Notes mature on July 30, 2038, and will be fully and unconditionally guaranteed by certain of the Company's subsidiaries. The settlement of the Notes is expected to take place on May 14
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom