FDA expands approval of Merck's Keytruda to lung cancer - Reuters

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday granted accelerated approval for Merck & Co's immunotherapy, Keytruda, in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer, the most common form of the disease.

Keytruda and another similar treatment from Bristol-Myers Squibb Co called Opdivo are designed to block a protein called PD-1, whose natural function is to put checks on the immune system. The FDA said the new approval for Keytruda includes use of a companion diagnostic, made by a unit of Agilent Technologies, to detect patients with adequate levels of the protein.

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