NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Merck (MRK) - Get Report shares are up 0.83% to $59.22 in market trading on Tuesday after the biopharmaceutical company reported that it is discontinuing the phase III trials of its advanced melanoma treatment Keytruda after an independent committee concluded that the drug met its two primary endpoints of progression-free survival and overall survival.

The drug treatment was successful in increasing the survival rate of patients with advanced stages of melanoma who had not yet been treated for the disease. Keytruda had already received prior approval as a treatment for advanced stages of melanoma in patients who were no longer responsive to other drug treatments.

Melanoma is the most advanced form of skin cancer with 76,100 people diagnosed with the disease last year, with 9,710 expected to succumb to the disease in the U.S. alone.

"Evidence from our clinical program for KEYTRUDA will help to define the appropriate treatment of advanced melanoma," said Dr. Roger Perlmutter, president, Merck Research Laboratories.

The company said that it expects to seek U.S. regulatory approval of Keytruda by mid-year.

Merck is a core holding of Jim Cramer'sAction Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio, and Trifecta Stocks' Bryan Ashenberg and Bob Lang had this to say about today's news:

Model portfolio holding Merck was trading 1% higher this morning at $59.32. We added to the position just last week and are glad to see some renewed momentum in the name. Today's news is that the company was able to stop a large Phase III clinical study "Keynote-006" of its Keytruda melanoma treatment early because an independent monitoring committee concluded that the drug had succeeded in its objective of prolonging survival in patients with advanced melanoma who were previously untreated. The safety profile of Keytruda in this trial was similar to its previously reported safety profile.

The data will be presented in the opening plenary session at the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, April 18-22. This is an important step in the maturation of the company's immuno-oncology franchise and underscores our bullishness on the name.

Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates MERCK & CO as a Buy with a ratings score of B+. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation:

"We rate MERCK & CO (MRK) a BUY. This is driven by multiple strengths, which we believe should have a greater impact than any weaknesses, and should give investors a better performance opportunity than most stocks we cover. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its compelling growth in net income, largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, notable return on equity, attractive valuation levels and expanding profit margins. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company shows weak operating cash flow."

Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows:

• You can view the full analysis from the report here: MRK Ratings Report

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