# Merck & Co.

Canonical page: https://technooptimist.io/companies/merck
US drugmaker (MSD outside North America) behind Keytruda. Its main bet on the next generation of cancer drugs is sac-TMT, a TROP2 antibody-drug conjugate licensed from China's Kelun-Biotech.

## In brief

- Sac-TMT: 17 global phase 3 trials enrolling 15,000+ patients, 10 of them in women's cancers.
- First global phase 3 win (TroFuse-005, endometrial cancer) in May 2026, on both survival and progression.
- Licensed outside Greater China from Kelun-Biotech in May 2022.

## Facts

- Headquarters: US
- Status: public
- Website: https://www.merck.com
- Frontiers: [Biotech](https://technooptimist.io/biotech.md) (Antibody drugs)

## Programs

- [Sacituzumab tirumotecan (sac-TMT)](https://technooptimist.io/biotech/sac-tmt.md) (Biotech): Pilot; next: Full TroFuse-005 data and global filings (2026). First global phase 3 win (endometrial, May 2026); 17 phase 3 trials; several approvals in China.

## Latest updates

- **29 May 2026**: Sac-TMT plus Keytruda cuts lung cancer progression risk by 65% versus Keytruda alone in a China trial. At ASCO 2026, Kelun presented a China phase 3 in first-line lung cancer in which sac-TMT added to Keytruda cut the risk of progression or death by 65% compared with Keytruda alone after 10.5 months of follow-up. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/sac-tmt-plus-keytruda-cuts-lung-cancer-progression-risk-by-65-versus-e1b521d3.md) · [original source](https://www.biopharmadive.com/news/merck-asco-2026-sac-tmt-lung-cancer-results/821500/))
- **18 May 2026**: Merck's sac-TMT improves survival in TroFuse-005, its first positive global phase 3, in endometrial cancer. Merck said sac-TMT beat standard chemotherapy (doxorubicin or paclitaxel) on both overall survival and progression-free survival in women with advanced endometrial cancer that had progressed after platinum chemotherapy and immunotherapy. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/merck-s-sac-tmt-improves-survival-in-trofuse-005-its-first-positive-fffaed7a.md) · [original source](https://www.merck.com/?p=3690800))
- **10 Mar 2025**: China approves sac-TMT for EGFR-mutant lung cancer, the first TROP2 conjugate approved in lung cancer. Kelun-Biotech won Chinese approval for sac-TMT as second-line treatment of EGFR-mutant lung cancer, its second indication in China. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/china-approves-sac-tmt-for-egfr-mutant-lung-cancer-the-first-trop2-36f82d84.md) · [original source](https://filingreader.com/news-wire/shenzhen/2025-03-17/keluns-sac-tmt-lung-cancer-treatment-approved-in-china))

## Partners, customers and investors

- Kelun-Biotech (partner): Discovered sac-TMT (SKB264); keeps Greater China rights and has several approvals there.

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