The US Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) has granted its first accelerated approval for a cancer treatment for solid tumours that have specifically defined genetic features , regardless of the tissue in the body that the tumour originates . The approval of the Merck - developed checkpoint inhibitor , drug Keytruda , was welcomed by the cancer community , however , it was also noted that not enough treatment is taking place , due to costs , resulting in a " complete stalemate " ; few may benefit from targeted therapies until the barrier is broken and molecular profiling can move forward . In the US , Keytruda has a list price of $ 12,500 per patient per month .
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted its first accelerated approval for a cancer treatment for solid tumours that have specifically identified genetic features, regardless of the place in the body that the tumour originates. The approval of the Merck-developed checkpoint inhibitor, called Keytruda, was welcomed by the cancer community, however, it was also noted that not enough sequencing is taking place, due to costs, resulting in a "treatment stalemate" meaning few may benefit from targeted therapies until the stalemate is broken and molecular profiling can move forward. In the US, Keytruda has a list price of $12,500 per patient per month.