Merck's Investigational Activin Signaling Inhibitor Sotatercept Improved Six-Minute Walk Distance by 40.8 Meters at Week 24 Versus Placebo in Adults with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension on Background Therapy

Sotatercept demonstrated statistically significant improvements in 8 of 9 secondary measures, including reduction in risk of clinical worsening or death

Results presented today at ACC.23/WCC and published in The New England Journal of Medicine

Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, today announced full results from the Phase 3 STELLAR trial, which evaluated sotatercept, Merck's novel investigational activin signaling inhibitor biologic, in combination with stable background therapy for the treatment of adult patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) (WHO Group 1). Sotatercept significantly improved exercise capacity, increasing 6-minute walk distance (6MWD) by 40.8 meters (95% CI, 27.5-54.1; p

In addition, sotatercept demonstrated statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in eight of nine secondary outcome measures, including improvements in WHO functional class (WHO FC) and pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR). Sotatercept reduced the risk of clinical worsening or death by 84% compared to placebo with a median follow-up of 32.7 weeks (HR=0.16 [95% CI, 0.08-0.35]; p nd Annual Scientific Session together with World Heart Federation's World Congress of Cardiology and simultaneously published in The New England Journal of Medicine .

"PAH is a rare, rapidly progressive, debilitating and ultimately life-threatening condition with a five-year mortality rate of 43 percent," said Dr. Marius Hoeper, Hannover Medical School, Germany, and lead investigator. "Sotatercept demonstrated profound improvements across the primary endpoint of six-minute walk distance and multiple secondary endpoints, including improvements in WHO functional class and pulmonary vascular resistance. These landmark results show the potential of sotatercept and the approach of targeting cellular signaling associated with vascular hyperproliferation and pathological remodeling for the treatment of PAH."

"The results from the Phase 3 STELLAR trial are immensely important to physicians and patients and highlight the critical role sotatercept may play in improving exercise capacity and other meaningful clinical outcome measures for patients with PAH," said Dr. Dean Y. Li, president, Merck Research Laboratories. "These findings are compelling given the profound reduction in the risk of clinical worsening or death in patients treated with sotatercept on top of background therapy. We look forward to discussing these pivotal data with health authorities and are working with urgency to bring this potential new treatment option to patients."

STELLAR is the first Phase 3 study to evaluate the efficacy of an activin signaling inhibitor added to background therapy in adults with PAH. Key findings from secondary endpoints included:

  • The proportion of patients who achieved multicomponent improvement at week 24 (defined as improvement in 6MWD, improvement in N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) level, and either improvement in WHO FC or maintenance of WHO FC II) was significantly greater with sotatercept versus placebo (38.9% [n=63/163] versus 10.1% [n=16/160]; p
  • Sotatercept demonstrated a statistically significant reduction of -234.6 dyn·sec·cm −5 (95% CI, -288.4 to -180.8; p
  • Sotatercept demonstrated a statistically significant reduction of -441.6 (95% CI, -573.5 to -309.6; p
  • Patients receiving sotatercept were significantly more likely to improve and maintain WHO FC at week 24 versus placebo. 29.4% (n=48/163) of patients in the sotatercept group improved in WHO FC compared to 13.8% (n=22/160) in the placebo group (p
  • Sotatercept significantly reduced events associated with clinical worsening (defined by death of any cause or specified non-fatal clinical worsening events). With a median follow-up of 32.7 weeks, 9 of 163 patients in the sotatercept group died or experienced a clinical worsening event versus 42 of 160 patients in the placebo group (HR=0.16 [95% CI, 0.08 to 0.35]; p
  • A significantly greater proportion of patients treated with sotatercept achieved or maintained a low French risk score (attaining or maintaining all three low-risk criteria: WHO functional class I or II, 6-minute walk distance > 440 meters, and NT-proBNP level
  • In patient-reported outcomes using the PAH-SYMPACT ® questionnaire, the average scores for Physical Impacts (change from baseline: -0.26 [95% CI, -0.49 to -0.04]; p=0.010) and Cardiopulmonary Symptoms (change from baseline: -0.13 [95% CI, -0.26 to -0.01]; p=0.028) were significantly reduced in patients treated with sotatercept versus placebo. PAH-SYMPACT ® is a disease-specific patient-reported outcome instrument. Domain scores range from 0 to 4 with higher scores indicating greater severity of symptoms.
  • The average score for Cognitive/Emotional Impacts using PAH-SYMPACT ® was not significantly different between patients treated with sotatercept versus placebo (p=0.156).

Treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) occurred in 90.8% of patients who received sotatercept versus 91.9% of patients who received placebo, while severe TEAEs were observed in 12.9% versus 18.1% of patients, respectively. Adverse events that occurred more frequently with sotatercept versus placebo were bleeding events, telangiectasia, increased hemoglobin levels, thrombocytopenia, increased blood pressure, and dizziness.

Study design and additional data from the STELLAR trial

STELLAR ( NCT04576988 ) was a pivotal Phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter, parallel-group study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of sotatercept in adult patients with PAH (WHO Group 1) being treated with background therapy with WHO Functional Class (FC) II or III. The primary endpoint of the study was exercise capacity, as measured by change from baseline in week 24 6MWD. Nine secondary endpoints, tested hierarchically in the following order, were multicomponent improvement, change in PVR, NT-proBNP level, improvement in WHO FC, time to clinical worsening or death, French risk score, and the PAH-SYMPACT ® Physical Impacts, Cardiopulmonary Symptoms and Cognitive/Emotional Impacts domain scores; all assessed at week 24 except clinical worsening, which was assessed when the last patient completed the week 24 visit.

The study enrolled a total of 323 participants who were randomized to receive either sotatercept (n=163) once every 3 weeks at a dose of 0.3 mg/kg at visit 1 and a dose of 0.7 mg/kg thereafter or placebo (n=160) added to stable background PAH therapy. The study population characteristics were: mean [±SD] 47.9 ± 14.8 years of age; 89% white; 79% female; and average length of time since PAH diagnosis of 8.8 years. In total,198 of the randomized patients (61.3%) were receiving triple therapy and 129 patients (39.9%) were receiving prostacyclin infusion therapy. Demographic and baseline characteristics were similar between the sotatercept and placebo groups.

The safety profile of sotatercept was generally consistent with that observed in the Phase 2 PULSAR trial. Seven patients (4.4%) in the placebo group and two patients (1.2%) in the sotatercept group died during the study through the data cutoff date.

About pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH)

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rare, progressive and life-threatening blood vessel disorder characterized by the constriction of small pulmonary arteries and elevated blood pressure in the pulmonary circulation. Approximately 40,000 people in the U.S. are living with PAH. The disease progresses rapidly for many patients. PAH results in significant strain on the heart, leading to limited physical activity, heart failure and reduced life expectancy. The five-year mortality rate for patients with PAH is approximately 43%.

About sotatercept

Sotatercept is an investigational, potential first-in-class activin signaling inhibitor biologic being studied for the treatment of PAH (WHO Group 1). PAH is a rare disease caused, in part, by hyperproliferation of cells in the arterial walls in the lung, leading to narrowing and abnormal constriction. In pre-clinical models, sotatercept has been shown to modulate vascular cell proliferation, reversing vascular and right ventricle remodeling.

Sotatercept has been granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation and Orphan Drug designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as well as Priority Medicines designation and Orphan Drug designation by the European Medicines Agency for the treatment of PAH. Merck acquired exclusive rights to sotatercept in the pulmonary hypertension field through the acquisition of Acceleron Pharma Inc. Sotatercept is the subject of a licensing agreement with Bristol Myers Squibb.

About Merck

At Merck, known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, we are unified around our purpose: We use the power of leading-edge science to save and improve lives around the world. For more than 130 years, we have brought hope to humanity through the development of important medicines and vaccines. We aspire to be the premier research-intensive biopharmaceutical company in the world – and today, we are at the forefront of research to deliver innovative health solutions that advance the prevention and treatment of diseases in people and animals. We foster a diverse and inclusive global workforce and operate responsibly every day to enable a safe, sustainable and healthy future for all people and communities. For more information, visit www.merck.com and connect with us on Twitter , Facebook , Instagram , YouTube and LinkedIn .

Forward-Looking Statement of Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, N.J., USA

This news release of Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, N.J., USA (the "company") includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the company's management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. There can be no guarantees with respect to pipeline candidates that the candidates will receive the necessary regulatory approvals or that they will prove to be commercially successful. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.

Risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to, general industry conditions and competition; general economic factors, including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; the impact of the global outbreak of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19); the impact of pharmaceutical industry regulation and health care legislation in the United States and internationally; global trends toward health care cost containment; technological advances, new products and patents attained by competitors; challenges inherent in new product development, including obtaining regulatory approval; the company's ability to accurately predict future market conditions; manufacturing difficulties or delays; financial instability of international economies and sovereign risk; dependence on the effectiveness of the company's patents and other protections for innovative products; and the exposure to litigation, including patent litigation, and/or regulatory actions.

The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Additional factors that could cause results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 and the company's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) available at the SEC's Internet site ( www.sec.gov ).

Media:

Julie Cunningham
(617) 519-6264

Ayn Wisler
(917) 691-6218

Investor:

Peter Dannenbaum
(908) 740-1037

Damini Chokshi
(908) 740-1807

News Provided by Business Wire via QuoteMedia

MRK
The Conversation (0)
Merck Announces First-Quarter 2023 Financial Results

Merck Announces First-Quarter 2023 Financial Results

  • First Quarter 2023 Reflected Continued Strong Underlying Performance Across Key Growth Drivers, Particularly in Oncology and Vaccines
  • Total Worldwide Sales Were $14.5 Billion, a Decrease of 9% From First Quarter 2022; Excluding LAGEVRIO, Growth Was 11%; Excluding LAGEVRIO and the Impact of Foreign Exchange, Growth Was 15%
    • KEYTRUDA Sales Grew 20% to $5.8 Billion; Excluding the Impact of Foreign Exchange, Sales Grew 24%
    • GARDASIL/GARDASIL 9 Sales Grew 35% to $2.0 Billion; Excluding the Impact of Foreign Exchange, Sales Grew 43%
    • LAGEVRIO Sales Declined 88% to $392 Million; Excluding the Impact of Foreign Exchange, Sales Declined 87%
  • GAAP EPS Was $1.11; Non-GAAP EPS Was $1.40; GAAP and Non-GAAP EPS Include $0.52 of Charges Related to Acquisition of Imago and Collaboration and Licensing Agreement With Kelun-Biotech
  • Announced Proposed Acquisition of Prometheus Biosciences to Strengthen Immunology Pipeline
  • Presented Compelling Data From Innovative Cardiovascular Pipeline With:
    • Positive Phase 3 Results for Sotatercept
    • Positive Phase 2b Results for MK-0616; Plans to Start Phase 3 Studies in 2023
  • Advanced Oncology Research Efforts, Sharing Notable Progress for Earlier Stages of Disease in Certain Tumor Types, Including:
    • Positive Topline Results From Phase 3 KEYNOTE-671 Trial
    • Positive Detailed Results in Collaboration With Moderna From Phase 2b KEYNOTE-942/mRNA-4157-P201 Trial
  • 2023 Financial Outlook
    • Raises and Narrows Expected Full-Year 2023 Worldwide Sales Range To Be Between $57.7 Billion and $58.9 Billion, Including Negative Impact of Foreign Exchange of Approximately 2 Percentage Points; Outlook Includes Approximately $1.0 Billion of LAGEVRIO Sales
    • Lowers and Narrows Expected Full-Year 2023 GAAP EPS Range To Be Between $5.85 and $5.97, Reflecting Zetia Antitrust Litigation Settlement
    • Raises and Narrows Expected Full-Year 2023 Non-GAAP EPS Range To Be Between $6.88 and $7.00, Including Negative Impact of Foreign Exchange of Approximately 4 Percentage Points
    • Outlook Does Not Reflect Any Impact From Proposed Acquisition of Prometheus Biosciences, Which Is Expected to Close in Third Quarter 2023, and Would Result in a One-Time Charge to Both GAAP and Non-GAAP Results of Approximately $10.3 Billion or Approximately $4.00 per Share

Merck (NYSE: MRK), known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced financial results for the first quarter of 2023.

�Inspired by our commitment to bring bold science forward to address critical unmet patient needs, we began 2023 with significant advancements across our innovative pipeline," said Robert M. Davis, chairman and chief executive officer, Merck. "Our first-quarter results are a reflection of the focused execution of our science-led strategy, strong performance across our key growth drivers, continued momentum commercially and operationally, and most importantly the collective and dedicated efforts of our colleagues around the world. I'm proud of the progress we've made, and we will continue to move with speed and agility to deliver value for patients and shareholders, now and well into the future."

News Provided by Business Wire via QuoteMedia

Keep reading...Show less
BRODSKY & SMITH SHAREHOLDER UPDATE: Notifying Investors of the Following Investigations: Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. , BELLUS Health Inc , Prometheus Biosciences, Inc. , Univar Solutions Inc.

BRODSKY & SMITH SHAREHOLDER UPDATE: Notifying Investors of the Following Investigations: Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. , BELLUS Health Inc , Prometheus Biosciences, Inc. , Univar Solutions Inc.

Brodsky & Smith reminds investors of the following investigations. If you own shares and wish to discuss the investigation, contact Jason Brodsky ( jbrodsky@brodskysmith.com ) or Marc Ackerman ( mackerman@brodskysmith.com ) at 855-576-4847. There is no cost or financial obligation to you.

Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq – SPPI)

News Provided by GlobeNewswire via QuoteMedia

Keep reading...Show less
OTC:BCTXF

BriaCell Announces Grant to Investigator Dr. Saveri Bhattacharya at Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center – Jefferson Health

Highlights:

  • Grant awarded to Dr. Saveri Bhattacharya, Principal Investigator of the Phase I/IIa combination study of Bria-IMT™ with KEYTRUDA® (by Merck) in advanced breast cancer at Thomas Jefferson University.
  • Merck to provide KEYTRUDA® for use in the combination study.
  • The Investigator Grant validates and will build on the encouraging preliminary data from BriaCell’s combination study of Bria-IMT™ with KEYTRUDA® (Link).

BriaCell Therapeutics Corp. (“BriaCell” or the “Company”) (TSXV:BCT, OTCQB:BCTXD), a clinical-stage biotechnology company specializing in targeted immunotherapy for advanced breast cancer, today announced that Dr. Saveri Bhattacharya, a board-certified medical oncologist and recognized expert in breast cancer treatment at the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center – Jefferson Health in Philadelphia, PA, has been selected to receive support from the Merck Investigator Studies Program (“MISP”). The Investigator Grant is a highly coveted award granted by Merck & Co., Inc. (“Merck”) (NYSE: MRK) to leading investigators with highly innovative clinical studies.

Keep reading...Show less

Merck Announces Q4 and Full-Year 2019 Financial Results

Merck (NYSE:MRK) reported quarterly worldwide sales at US$11.9 billion in Q4 in its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2019 and its full fiscal 2019 year.

As quoted in the press release:

Keep reading...Show less
OTC:BCTXF

BriaCell’s Clinical Data Accepted to be Presented at the Annual Symposium of Society of Surgical Oncology 2020 in Boston

Safety and early efficacy data to be presented from clinical trial of Bria-IMT™ in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors in advanced breast cancer:

  • Bria-IMT™ in combination with pembrolizumab (KEYTRUDA®; by Merck & Co., Inc.);
  • Bria-IMT™ in combination with INCMGA00012 (by Incyte Corporation).

BriaCell Therapeutics Corp. (“BriaCell” or the “Company”) (TSXV:BCT, OTCQB:BCTXD), a clinical-stage biotechnology company specializing in targeted immunotherapies for advanced breast cancer, is pleased to announce that the data of its clinical studies with its lead product candidate, Bria-IMT™, will be presented the at the Annual Symposium of Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) 2020 – International Conference on Surgical Cancer Care taking place March 25-28 in Boston, MA.

Keep reading...Show less

Pfizer Declares Second-Quarter 2025 Dividend

Board of Directors approves quarterly cash dividend of $0.43 per share

News Provided by Business Wire via QuoteMedia

Keep reading...Show less

ACIP Votes to Expand Recommendation for Pfizer's RSV Vaccine ABRYSVO® to Include Adults Aged 50 to 59 at Increased Risk of Disease

  • Vote expands existing recommendation, which was for all adults aged 75 and older and high-risk adults aged 60 to 74

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) announced today that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted to expand its recommendation for the use of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines approved for adults 50-59 years of age at increased risk of RSV-associated lower respiratory tract disease (LRTD). This includes ABRYSVO ® (Respiratory Syncytial Virus Vaccine), which in October 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved for the prevention of RSV-associated LRTD in adults aged 18 to 59 at increased risk of severe disease.

News Provided by Business Wire via QuoteMedia

Keep reading...Show less

Pfizer Provides Update on Oral GLP-1 Receptor Agonist Danuglipron

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) today announced the decision to discontinue development of danuglipron (PF-06882961), an oral glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist, which was being investigated for chronic weight management.

Pfizer's dose-optimization studies of once-daily formulations of danuglipron ( NCT06567327 and NCT06568731 ) met key pharmacokinetic objectives and confirmed a formulation and dose with the potential to deliver a competitive efficacy and tolerability profile in Phase 3 testing, based on earlier studies of twice-daily danuglipron. While the overall frequency of liver enzyme elevations across the over 1,400 participant safety database of danuglipron is in-line with approved agents in the class, a single asymptomatic participant in one of the dose-optimization studies experienced potential drug-induced liver injury which resolved after discontinuation of danuglipron. After a review of the totality of information, including all clinical data generated to date for danuglipron and recent input from regulators, Pfizer has decided to discontinue development of the molecule.

News Provided by Business Wire via QuoteMedia

Keep reading...Show less
Invion Limited (ASX:IVX)

Invion Limited

Keep reading...Show less

Pfizer Invites Shareholders to Attend Virtual 2025 Annual Meeting of Shareholders on April 24

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) announced today that its shareholders and the general public are invited to access its virtual 2025 Annual Meeting of Shareholders at 9:00 a.m. EDT on Thursday, April 24, 2025. Pfizer has designed the virtual Annual Meeting to ensure that its shareholders who participate will be afforded comparable rights and opportunities to participate as they would at an in-person meeting.

Beginning today, shareholders can find additional information on accessing and registering for the virtual meeting at https://meetnow.global/PFE2025 . On the day of the Annual Meeting, shareholders may begin logging into the virtual meeting platform at 8:45 a.m. EDT using either the control number found on their proxy card, voting instruction form or the notice that was previously received. Only shareholders who log into the meeting using a control number will have the ability to ask questions or vote during the live meeting.

News Provided by Business Wire via QuoteMedia

Keep reading...Show less

Latest Press Releases

Related News

×