Trending News Today: Amazon Drops Plans to Sell Drugs to Hospitals

A new study published by the New England Journal of Medicine showed that pembrolizumab (Keytruda, Merck) is effective in combination with standard chemotherapy in a majority of patients diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer, NPR reported. According to the article, the study estimates that 1 year after treatment, 69% of patients who received the treatment in addition to chemotherapy would still be alive, compared with 49% of those who received chemotherapy alone.

Shares of US drug suppliers rose on Monday after a report that Amazon.com Inc had dropped plans to sell drugs to hospitals, Reuters reported. According to the article, Amazon had not been able to convince big hospitals to change their traditional purchasing process. Instead, the company will focus on selling less sensitive medical supplies to hospitals and smaller clinics, according to Reuters.

Sanofi plans to sell its European generic drug unit to buyout firm Advent International Corp for $2.4 billion in an effort to focus resources on biotechnology and new medicines, Bloomberg reported. The company also announced approximately $16 billion in acquisition deals this year, agreeing to buy Bioverativ Inc to expand its hemophilia treatment portfolio and Ablynx NV to gain an experimental medicine for another rare bleeding disorder, according to the article.