Dr. Scott K. Pruitt
Consultant
Dr. Scott K. Pruitt is a physician scientist with over 40 years of experience in the fields of immunology, cancer immunotherapy, and surgical oncology. He obtained his undergraduate degree in Biochemistry from Harvard College, his medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, completed his general surgical residency at Duke Hospital, and obtained his doctorate in Microbiology and Immunology from Duke University. Initially as a research fellow and resident, and then as a faculty member and practicing surgical oncologist at Duke University and the Durham VA Medical Center, Dr. Pruitt provided patient care, taught medical students and residents, and led a grant-supported laboratory conducting translational research.
Upon retiring from Duke in 2013, Dr. Pruitt joined Merck’s Experimental Medicine Division before moving to Oncology Early Development in 2015, where he developed and directed the Keynote-158 Keytruda basket trial, with this work culminating in the FDA approval of Keytruda in MSI-H cancer, the first tumor type- agnostic approval of any cancer therapeutic, as well as multiple additional approvals in additional indications, including in tumor mutational burden high tumors. He also led the clinical team that gained FDA approval of Keytruda in cervical cancer, the first approval of any PD-1/PD-L1 blocker in gynecologic cancer. He then led a section in Early Oncology for two years, overseeing the early phase development of multiple compounds. He then was chosen to lead the Translational Oncology team where he was responsible for biomarkers and companion diagnostic development for all Merck oncology trials. He retired from Merck in April 2025 and is now a pharmaceutical industry consultant.
