Merck files for FDA approval of Keytruda in lung cancer

Merck & Co Inc said on Sunday it has submitted an application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its drug Keytruda as a treatment for advanced non-small cell lung cancer, the most common form of the disease. Keytruda, also known as pembrolizumab, is currently approved by the FDA for patients with advanced melanoma who are no longer responding to other therapies. The drug is part of a new class designed to help the body’s own immune system fend off cancer by blocking a protein known as Programmed Death receptor (PD-1), or a related target known as PD-L1, used by tumors to evade disease-fighting cells. Merck said the FDA submission is based on trial data in patients for which testing showed that at least half of their tumor cells contained PD-L1.
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Australia to boost child vaccination with $20 mn package

Australia has unveiled a Aus$26 million (US$20 million) package to increase child vaccination rates, as it removed a religious exemption allowing parents unwilling to immunise their children to claim some government benefitsAustralia on Sunday unveiled a Aus$26 million (US$20 million) package to increase child vaccination rates, as it removed a religious exemption allowing parents unwilling to immunise their children to claim some government benefits. Health Minister Sussan Ley said the new measures, which will be part of the May 12 federal budget, included the establishment of a national school vaccination register and financial incentives for doctors to pursue children two months overdue for their immunisations. "In fact, what happens is your children maintain immunity from diseases that can either kill or give lifetime difficulties." Ley said the package was part of a "carrot and stick" approach to immunisation. The government last Sunday said it would block parents who refuse to vaccinate their children from accessing some government benefits.

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