The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved Bavencio as the first treatment for metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma, a rare form of skin cancer.
EMD Serono — the biopharmaceutical division of Darmstadt, Germany-based Merck — developed the immunotherapy drug, which stimulates the body's immune system to destroy cancer cells.
Bavencio is approved to treat patients 12 years and up, even if they have not previously received chemotherapy as a preliminary treatment for MCC, according to the FDA.
About 1,600 Americans are diagnosed with MCC annually. While most patients have localized tumors that can be surgically removed, about half of all patients will see the cancer return and more than one-third will develop a metatastic form of the disease, according to the National Cancer Institute.
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