Merck & Co. Inc. shares jumped 3% premarket Tuesday, after the company announced positive results in a late-stage lung cancer trial. The New Jersey-based drug company said the Phase 3 trial of Keytruda in combination with pemetrexed and cisplatin or carboplatin for patients with metastatic non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer met its dual primary endpoints of overall survival and progression-free survival. Results from the Keynote-189 trial will be presented at a coming medical meeting and submitted to the regulator, said Merck. Non-small cell lung cancer is the most common of two types of lung cancer, which kills more people than colon, breast and prostate cancers combined. Merck shares have fallen about 6% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 22%.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
From:: Stock Market News