German Merck, which operates its biopharmaceutical business as EMD Serono in the US and Canada, and Pfizer are dropping the Phase III JAVELIN Ovarian PARP 100 study in which they tested avelumab combined with chemotherapy followed by maintenance therapy of avelumab in combination with talazoparib, a poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor, versus an active comparator in treatment-naïve patients with locally advanced or metastatic ovarian cancer (Stage III or Stage IV), as they described in the press release on Wednesday.