Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY)

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HEALTH NEWS | Wed Jan 11, 2017 | 9:35am GMT

Merck steals march on rivals in lung cancer drug combo race
By Bill Berkrot and Ben Hirschler

Merck & Co has pulled ahead of rivals in the race to combine immunotherapy with other drugs as a treatment for lung cancer, potentially giving it a major lift in the battle for the largest cancer market.

U.S. regulators have agreed to a speedy review of Merck's application to combine its immune system-boosting drug Keytruda with chemotherapy as an initial therapy for advanced lung cancer, the U.S. drugmaker said.

Shares in AstraZeneca, which is developing a dual-immunotherapy approach, fell around 1 percent in early trade on Wednesday, while Roche, which is looking to add chemotherapy like Merck, slipped 0.6 percent.

Merck said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would decide by May 10 whether to approve its Keytruda combination treatment, sending the company's stock more than 3 percent higher in after-hours trading.

Bristol-Myers Squibb is also working on an immunotherapy-based combination approach for lung cancer.
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http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-merck-co-cancer-idUKKBN14U2T5

Reason for the slip?

BMY