Merck collaborator posts pancreatic cancer results; new MK-1045, COPD trial records surface
A Johns Hopkins-led pancreatic cancer trial with Merck as collaborator posted results, while Merck logged new trial registrations and a status update on its Phase 3 COPD study.
The week's most notable update is a results posting from a Merck-collaborator trial in pancreatic cancer, alongside a cluster of new Merck-sponsored trial registrations and one updated record.
- A Phase 2 trial sponsored by Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, with Merck Sharp & Dohme as collaborator, posted results on November 4, 2026. The study tested multi-agent low dose chemotherapy with gemcitabine, nab-paclitaxel, capecitabine, cisplatin, and irinotecan followed by maintenance olaparib and pembrolizumab in patients with untreated metastatic pancreatic ductal cancer.1 It enrolled 36 participants (actual) and is listed as completed, with progression-free survival rate at 6 months as the primary outcome, measured from the date of first dose of maintenance therapy after disease stabilization with 6 cycles of GAX-CI.1
- Merck's Phase 3 trial "ENHANCE-3," testing ensifentrine (MK-5884) against placebo for preventing COPD exacerbations in adults on standard of care, remains recruiting; the record's last update was posted November 6, 2026, though the study was first posted October 15, 2026. It plans to enroll 2136 participants (estimated).2
- Merck's Phase 3 trial of gocatamig plus durvalumab versus durvalumab alone as consolidation therapy in limited-stage small cell lung cancer remains not yet recruiting, with Daiichi Sankyo listed as collaborator. The study plans to enroll 564 participants (estimated) with an estimated start of 2026-12-07.3
- Merck's Phase 1/2 umbrella substudy under the MK-2870-U01 master protocol, testing sacituzumab tirumotecan alone or combined with other treatments in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, remains not yet recruiting. It plans an estimated enrollment of 290 participants with an estimated start of 2026-12-14.4
- A Merck-sponsored Phase 2 trial of MK-1045 in chronic lymphocytic leukemia and small lymphocytic lymphoma is recruiting, with an actual start of 2026-10-14. The study plans to enroll 60 participants (estimated)5, with objective response rate across Parts 1 and 2 as a primary outcome, defined per International Workshop on Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia 2018 criteria as assessed by blinded independent central review.5
- A Merck-sponsored Phase 1 crossover study evaluating MK-4646, an investigational HIV-1 treatment, for its effect on rosuvastatin pharmacokinetics in healthy volunteers is active but not recruiting, with an actual start of 2026-09-25 and enrollment of 16 participants (actual).6
- A Phase 2 trial sponsored by the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute, with Merck Sharp & Dohme as collaborator, was first posted November 3, 2026, and is not yet recruiting. The trial, called ZiVLen, will test a combination of zilovertamab vedotin and lenalidomide to help people with peripheral T-cell lymphoma that has come back after treatment or has not responded to previous treatment.7 It plans to enroll 25 participants (estimated).7
Written by readthrough’s AI from the linked primary sources and fact-checked against them automatically before publishing. Not investment advice.