Drugmaker Merck was a drag on the Dow Jones in midday trading Tuesday as the blue-chip index struggled to follow the S&P and Nasdaq into positive territory.
Merck (NYSE:MRK) shares dropped 2,2% following a disappointing clinical trial for its market-leading lung cancer treatment.
The company said after the bell Monday that its drug Keytruda did not meet a statistically significant goal in treating non-small cell lung cancer in combination with chemotherapy in a phase 3 trial.
Merck’s loss of a little more than $2 accounted for more than 13 points of the Dow’s 31-point loss.
Keytruda has been approved to treat non-small cell lung cancer, which accounts for around 85% of lung cancer cases, and currently holds a dominant position in that market.
Small-cell lung cancer accounts for about 10% to 15% of all cases of lung cancer, Merck said. It said the five-year survival rate for patients diagnosed in the U.S. with any stage of SCLC is estimated to be 6%.
-- Reuters contributed to this report.
