Core Insights - Merck (MRK.US) announced that its dual oral therapy Welireg (belzutifan) combined with lenvatinib met one of its primary endpoints for progression-free survival (PFS) in a Phase III trial for advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) patients who had disease progression after prior anti-PD-1/L1 therapy [1] Group 1: Clinical Trial Results - The mid-term analysis showed that the combination of belzutifan and lenvatinib demonstrated statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in PFS compared to cabozantinib [2] - The combination therapy also showed statistically significant improvement in the key secondary endpoint of objective response rate (ORR) compared to cabozantinib [2] Group 2: Industry Context - RCC is the most common type of kidney cancer, accounting for approximately 90% of kidney cancer diagnoses [2] - In 2022, there were about 435,000 new cases of kidney cancer globally, with approximately 156,000 deaths attributed to the disease [2] - The incidence of RCC is about twice as high in men compared to women, with around 30% of kidney cancer patients diagnosed at an advanced stage [2]