U.S. regulators have approved the first drug in a new class of cancer medicines that work by stimulating the immune system. The drug was developed by Merck for treating the most deadly form of skin cancer.
The Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval to Merck's Keytruda for treating melanoma that's spread or can't be surgically removed, in patients previously treated with another drug.
The drug, known chemically as pembrolizumab, is part of a promising new class of antibody-based drugs that work by taking a brake off the immune system so it can better recognize and attack cancer cells.
Merck's drug is the first of its kind approved in the United States. Rival drug company Bristol-Myers Squibb and a partner got a similar drug approved in Japan in July and are seeking U.S. approval.
Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer. It strikes nearly 77,000 Americans each year and takes nearly 9,500 lives.
This life-threatening malignancy is on the rise in the U.S. in young people, and especially among women. A report published in July found a 200 percent jump in cases of melanoma since 1973.
