(AOF) – Merck and its partner Eisai announced on Friday their decision to end an advanced phase study testing an experimental combination therapy for head and neck cancer, after an interim analysis showed that it failed to prolong the lives of patients. The therapy combines Merck’s flagship drug Keytruda with Eisai’s Lenvima: it did not show a significant improvement in overall survival, which was one of the study’s three main objectives.
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Biotechs put to the test
These companies are suffering from a much less favorable economic cycle, which is reflected in particular by a drop in financing by venture capital for start-ups. These companies are therefore obliged to carry out redundancy plans. Added to this is a much more restrictive regulatory framework. First, in the United States, the measures linked to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) could have a strong impact on the margins of the participants. Indeed, from 2026, the federal Medicare program will be able to renegotiate the price of drugs marketed for nine years (chemicals) or 13 years (biologicals), with discounts that could range from 35 to 60% for biotechs. Similarly, in Europe, with the new drug regulations presented in Brussels in April, the duration of patent protection will be reduced if the innovative treatment is not marketed in all member countries within two years.