Immutep (IMMP) said Friday that it has enrolled half of the target patients in a late-stage study testing its experimental cancer drug with Merck's Keytruda and chemotherapy for advanced lung cancer.

The late-stage trial is studying eftilagimod alfa, or efti, as a first-line treatment for people with advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer, the company said. So far, 378 patients have been enrolled across more than 140 clinical sites in 27 countries, the company said.

The company said it expects to complete a futility analysis in Q1 and finish patient enrollment in Q3.

The study aims to determine whether adding efti to Keytruda and chemotherapy improves survival and delays disease progression compared with standard treatment alone, Immutep said.