** U.S.-listed shares of Dutch drugmaker Merus NV MRUS.O surge 32% to $54.93
** Late on Thursday, Merus' lead drug candidate petosemtamab in combination with Merck's MRK.N Keytruda delayed progression of a type of head and neck cancer in a mid-stage trial
** The combination treatment showed a 79% survival rate after 1 year in a group of 43 patients
** Including session's moves, MRUS stock up 29.6% YTD
(Reporting by Padmanabhan Ananthan)
((Padmanabhan.Ananthan@thomsonreuters.com))