Republic of Congo Announces Ebola Outbreak, Partners with Merck

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s health ministry has approved the use of a not-yet-licensed Merck vaccine to combat an outbreak of Ebola in the northeast which has killed four people. Clinical trials of the vaccine, rVSV-ZEBOV, last December showed a strong...

FDA Approves Merck Tumor Treatment for DNA-Linked Cancers

In a move towards general cancer treatment, the FDA has approved Merck’s cancer drug for the treatment of any advanced tumor with microsatellite instability or DNA mismatch repair defects. Variants of these DNA indicators are present in genetically-linked cancers. The...

There is No Such Thing as “Low Hanging Fruit” in Drug R&D

Forbes just posted this thought-provoking article written by the former President of Pfizer Global Research.  Using an approach Merck attempted as an example, he discusses some of the challenges that decision makers face these days in relation to drug safety,...