While Merck’s PD-1/VEGF asset appears to match the performance of Summit Therapeutics’ ivonescimab, the pharma’s Phase 1/2 readout in non-small cell lung cancer still leaves analysts with some questions moving into later-stage development.
Merck and Sino Biopharmaceutical’s anti-PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibody achieved response rates in a Phase 1/2 study that could rival the current leader in the space—findings that could help the pharma hold on to its cancer crown.
The findings, revealed Friday along with other abstracts at the American Association for Cancer Research’s annual meeting in San Diego, showed an unconfirmed overall response rate (ORR) of 55% in patients with non-small cell lung cancer who hadn’t undergone prior lines of treatment. The investigational therapy, dubbed MK-2010, hit 44% ORR when used as a second-line or later option.
“Data appears largely in line with Summit/Akeso’s ivonescimab,” analysts at BMO Capital Markets told investors in a Sunday afternoon note, referring to Merck’s chief competitor in this modality.
Summit Therapeutics and China’s Akeso are advancing the PD-1/VEGF bispecific ivonescimab, which is currently under FDA review for NSCLC with a decision expected in November. Some observers have dubbed ivonescimab as the Keytruda-killer after the partners in September 2024 showed that their bispecific antibody significantly outpaced Keytruda’s progression-free survival in a Phase 3 NSCLC study.
Most analysts have since tempered their optimism following a late-stage China study that resulted in an overall survival miss in May 2025 and signs of cross-country consistency problems in September that year.
Still, ivonescimab looms large over Merck’s new data. In a Monday note, BMO used ivonescimab’s Phase 3 ORR outcome of around 50% as a benchmark for MK-2010. “For MK-2010 to be meaningfully competitive in the PD-(L)1xVEGF treatment landscape, high ORRs that translate to survival outcomes in later-stage studies are needed,” the analysts said.
RBC Capital Markets agreed, noting on Friday that the Phase 1/2 findings support further development for MK-2010 and “puts Merck back in contention in the increasingly competitive PD-1×VEGF space.” Yet, the analysts wrote, the readout “lacks a distinctive edge.”
Merck “remains significantly behind” ivonescimab, the RBC analysts wrote, with Summit “substantially ahead.”
For Leerink Partners, Summit’s lead doesn’t seem so insurmountable. Merck has a “strong portfolio to leapfrog the competition via antibody-drug conjugate combinations,” analysts told investors in a Sunday note.
MK-2010 came to Merck in November 2024 when it partnered with Shanghai-based LaNova Medicines for $588 million upfront and up to $2.7 billion in milestones. In July 2025, Sino Biopharmaceutical bet up to $951 million to absorb LaNova.