The safety and efficacy of the combination of Lilly’s Alimta (pemetrexed for injection) and Merck’s Keytruda (pembrolizumab) is being evaluated in the study.
Merck will sponsor the trail, which will be open to treatment-naive NSCLC patients regardless of PD-L1 status. A Phase II study was started earlier this year.
Lilly Oncology senior vice president for product development and medical affairs Richard Gaynor said: "The extension of our immuno-oncology collaboration with Merck reinforces our combination-focused strategy, which we believe has the potential to help this patient population where there is a significant unmet need."
Alimta is indicated to treat malignant pleural mesothelioma, which is a cancer that affects the inside lining of the chest cavity.
It is approved by the FDA in combination with cisplatin chemotherapy drug for the initial treatment of advanced nonsquamous NSCLC.
Keytruda is a humanized monoclonal antibody that increases the ability of the body’s immune system to fight tumor cells by blocking the interaction between PD-1 and its ligands PD-L1 and PD-L2.
It activates T lymphocytes which could affect both tumor cells and healthy cells.