Merck's DME Drug Remigromig Hits Primary Endpoint in Phase 2b/3 Trial

Merck & Co.'s Brunello trial has yielded promising results for its trispecific diabetic macular edema (DME) drug, remigromig. The phase 2b/3 trial compared remigromig to ranibizumab, a VEGF inhibitor sold as Lucentis in the U.S. by Roche's Genentech.

Merck acquired remigromig and its sister asset MK-8748 in a $1.3 billion upfront takeover of EyeBio in 2024, with up to $1.7 billion in potential milestones.

The trial found that both doses of remigromig were noninferior to ranibizumab at Week 52 on the primary endpoint, which looked at change on the best-corrected visual acuity vision test.