Merck & Co. (MRK): Upcoming ESMO Conference to Feature Key Data for mRNA Cancer Therapy and Sac-TMT

Ahead of the ESMO Congress (Oct 23-27), Goldman Sachs highlights key readouts for Merck's oncology pipeline. The most anticipated event is the Phase 3 INTPerath-001 trial of the Moderna-partnered individualized neoantigen therapy (mRNA-4157/V940) plus pembrolizumab in adjuvant resected melanoma; following the August disclosure of a statistically significant improvement in recurrence-free survival versus Keytruda alone, investor focus centers on the RFS hazard ratio, and the shares are expected to trade up if the HR is below 0.60, with readthrough to renal cell carcinoma and NSCLC indications. For sac-TMT (TROP2 ADC), ESMO will feature partner Kelun's China-only Phase 3 OptiTROP-Lung06 trial in first-line PD-L1-low metastatic non-squamous NSCLC, which could de-risk the global registrational path, as well as the first global Phase 3 readout, TroFuse-005, in previously treated endometrial cancer. The report notes some credit for positive outcomes is already reflected in the stock, so data