NEW YORK, March 1, 2026, 13:44 EST — Market closed.
Merck & Co (MRK) finished Friday’s session up 3.8%, closing at $123.82. Shares moved between $119.68 and $124.00 throughout the day, with roughly 17.6 million changing hands, Investing.com data show.
Weekend flows hold weight here: Merck remains heavily reliant on Keytruda, its primary growth driver, as patent expiry looms. The drug hauled in more than $30 billion in 2025, accounting for almost half the company’s revenue—major patents start running out in 2028, according to Reuters. James Harlow, senior VP at Novare Capital Management, sees a dedicated oncology unit as a way for Merck to sharpen its pipeline.
The company pinned down a couple of key U.S. regulatory dates. For Welireg paired with Keytruda as adjuvant treatment in kidney cancer, the FDA marked June 19, 2026 as the PDUFA target—its deadline for completing the review. Eisai, on its end, reported an Oct. 4, 2026 action date from the agency for supplemental filings involving Welireg plus Lenvima in patients with previously treated advanced kidney cancer.
Merck reported Friday that its Keytruda-chemotherapy combo improved overall survival in platinum-resistant recurrent ovarian cancer, citing final data from the Phase 3 KEYNOTE‑B96 trial. According to the company, the regimen cut death risk by 18% compared to paclitaxel, with or without Roche’s Avastin. Median overall survival hit 17.7 months on the Keytruda arm against 14.0 months for the control. “Patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer show reduced responses to traditional regimens,” said Dr. Nicoletta Colombo of the European Institute of Oncology in Milan. Merck.com
Just a day after its previous announcement, Merck posted Phase 3 data on earlier-stage renal cell carcinoma in patients post-surgery. Adding Welireg to Keytruda led to a 28% drop in the risk of recurrence or death compared to Keytruda alone (hazard ratio 0.72). At 24 months, disease-free survival reached an estimated 80.7% for the combination, up from 73.7% for Keytruda by itself. Dana-Farber’s Dr. Toni K. Choueiri called the combo a potential practice-changer, according to Merck’s statement.
Merck and Eisai released Phase 3 results in advanced renal cell carcinoma patients previously treated with PD‑1/PD‑L1 inhibitors, reporting that Welireg with Lenvima outperformed cabozantinib (marketed as Cabometyx) for progression‑free survival. Median PFS landed at 14.8 months for the Welireg-Lenvima combo, compared to 10.7 months with cabozantinib. As for overall survival, there was movement in the right direction, but the figures didn’t hit statistical significance in this interim analysis. “Choosing the right treatment … has been an ongoing challenge,” said Dr. Robert Motzer of Memorial Sloan Kettering. Merck.com
Dana-Farber unveiled results from LITESPARK-022 at the ASCO Genitourinary Cancers Symposium in San Francisco, held Feb. 26-28. The numbers: roughly 81% of patients treated with pembrolizumab and belzutifan remained cancer-free at follow-up, compared to 74% for pembrolizumab alone. Overall survival numbers aren’t in yet. “We need new therapies that can work together to better prevent the cancer from coming back,” Choueiri said. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
The kidney cancer “one-two punch” is also drawing sharper dividing lines among rivals. Merck’s Pietanza described both readouts as “very compelling” in comments to Fierce Pharma, but flagged the big question still hanging: long-term survival, the metric doctors and payers focus on when costly shifts in treatment are on the table. Fierce Pharma
Still, the bear case isn’t complicated. In the adjuvant kidney trial, anemia and hypoxia cropped up more with the combo, and in both kidney indications, overall survival is still the hurdle. Regulators could flag the risk-benefit profile or demand extended follow-up. Many doctors will likely hold out for unambiguous survival data before shifting big patient cohorts.
Merck has been adapting to those shifts, carving its Human Health division into two pieces: an Oncology Business Unit and a separate group for Specialty, Pharma & Infectious Diseases. CEO Robert Davis commented, “Merck is pleased to welcome Brian Foard,” with Foard slated to step in as president of the non-oncology segment on March 2, the company said. Merck.com
Investors looking ahead will have an opportunity to hear from CFO Caroline Litchfield and research chief Dean Li, who are scheduled for a fireside chat at the TD Cowen healthcare conference this Tuesday, March 3, at 1:50 p.m. EST. As for Merck’s dividend, the next key date is March 13, when shares go ex-dividend; holders will see a $0.85 cash payout on April 7, according to the company’s website.
Monday’s open on March 2 brings a straightforward dilemma: Do those oncology readouts — ovarian survival on Friday, kidney data over the weekend — keep MRK’s momentum alive, or does the action stall out as traders settle in for the next wave of FDA dates and trial updates?
