Exelixis and Merck Sign Clinical Development Collaboration to Evaluate Investigational Zanzalintinib in Combination With KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) in Head and Neck Cancer and in Combination With WELIREG® (belzutifan) in Renal Cell Carcinoma

Exelixis, Inc. and Merck, known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, announced that the companies have entered into a clinical development collaboration to evaluate the combination of Exelixis’ investigational tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) zanzalintinib with Merck’s anti-PD-1 therapy KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) in a Phase 3 pivotal trial for the treatment of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), and zanzalintinib with WELIREG® (belzutifan), Merck’s oral hypoxia-inducible factor-2 alpha (HIF-2α) inhibitor, in a Phase 1/2 trial and two Phase 3 pivotal trials for the treatment of patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Read more.