The FDA has granted Merck’s Keytruda “real-time” approval as a frontline treatment for non-squamous non-small-cell lung cancer in combination with chemotherapy. The decision, based on data from the company’s KEYNOTE-189 presented in April, is part of the agency’s pilot program in which regulators begin the approval process before a formal application is filed. (Endpoints)
Novo Nordisk is throwing its marketing spend behind Ozempic, its once-weekly GLP-1 injection for diabetes that was approved by the FDA last December. The company recently launched a DTC campaign for the drug, which highlights its added heart and weight-loss advantages that Novo hopes will give it an edge over rivals, notably Eli Lilly’s Trulicity. (MM&M)
AstraZeneca’s new $650 million headquarters in Cambridge, U.K., is turning into a headache for the pharma company, which is reportedly looking to fire the project’s contractor. The headquarters, which was originally slated to open in 2016, has been riddled with delays and cost increases. (Endpoints)
High-profile healthcare policy researcher Dr. Gilbert Welch plagiarized material included in an influential 2016 paper on breast-cancer screenings published in the New England Journal of Medicine, according to an investigation by Dartmouth College. (STAT)
Inadequate sleep costs the U.S. more than $400 billion in economic losses per year, according to researchers at the RAND Corporation. It’s a growing problem in industrialized countries, where 20% to 30% of workers have said they regularly do not get enough sleep, resulting in a loss of productivity, efficiency, and accuracy. (New York Times)