"Targeting Only Cancer Cells"... Company in the Spotlight at the World's Largest Cancer Conference [Click e-Stock]

Interest is growing in Merck's next-generation cancer treatment technology.

Photo unrelated to specific expressions in the article. Getty Images Bank

On June 10, Han Seung-yeon, a researcher at NH Investment & Securities, stated, "At this year's American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the most important late-stage clinical trial of an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) that was released is Merck's TROP2 ADC OptiTROP Lung05 project, which is drawing significant attention."

ADC is a next-generation targeted anti-cancer therapy that combines a highly cytotoxic drug (payload) with an antibody that precisely seeks out cancer cells. It is known for its ability to specifically target and destroy only cancer cells.

Han explained, "Previously, TROP2 ADC was expected to follow in the footsteps of Enhertu, the most successful ADC developed by Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZeneca. However, expectations waned after AstraZeneca and other competitors failed in non-small cell lung cancer clinical trials for second-line (2L) therapy. Nevertheless, Merck has heightened anticipation by demonstrating, for the first time, that the period during which cancer cells did not worsen and patients survived improved compared to the Keytruda monotherapy group in the first-line (1L) non-small cell lung cancer trial."

She added, "From Merck's perspective, the success of the TROP2 ADC 1L trial is very significant, as half of Merck's revenue comes from Keytruda, and the top indication by sales for Keytruda is precisely non-small cell lung cancer."

Han also noted, "Recently, competitors have been trying to replace Keytruda with their own immunotherapies, while Merck has chosen to combine TROP2 ADC to defend its position. The ASCO data has strengthened expectations for success."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.