Genmab's bispecific combo with Keytruda halves death risk in phase 3 head‑neck cancer trial

Genmab announced interim results from its phase 3 LiGeR-HN1 study, showing that adding the bispecific antibody petosemtamab to Merck's Keytruda significantly improved outcomes for patients with PD-L1‑positive recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

The combination cut the risk of death by 50% compared with Keytruda alone, with a hazard ratio of 0.50. It also more than tripled the odds of an objective response, achieving an odds ratio of 3.17. Both primary endpoints-overall survival and objective response rate-were met with statistical significance.

Genmab acquired petosemtamab through its $8 billion purchase of Merus last year. The safety profile of the combo was consistent with what has been observed for each drug individually, and no new safety signals were identified.