US drugs giant Merck (US:MRK) has had its novel immunotherapy drug Bavencio approved in America for the treatment of an aggressive form of skin cancer. The drug was tested in 88 Merkel cell carcinoma patients, 86 per cent of whom saw their tumours shrink significantly after six months of treatment.
The race to launch cancer immunotherapies has been hard fought by American pharmaceutical companies and although Bavencio is only the fourth to gain approval, it is the first to be licensed for use in skin cancer patients. Merck and its partner Pfizer (US:PFE) are also studying the drug in non-small-cell lung cancer, kidney cancer, ovarian cancer, bladder cancer and as a combination approach alongside some of Pfizer's other medications. Revenue from Bavencio and the other cancer immunotherapy the two companies are developing together will be shared equally by Pfizer and Merck.