FDA Approves New Prostate Cancer Treatment From AstraZeneca and Merck

Members of a large subset of prostate cancer patients with tumors that have already spread have a new chemotherapy-free treatment option. The FDA on Wednesday approved Lynparza, a PARP inhibitor from AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) and Merck (NYSE: MRK) that previously had been approved to treat people with ovarian and breast cancers.

The FDA completed its review of Lynparza for prostate cancer patients with tumors that test positive for homologous recombination repair (HRR) mutations a couple of months ahead of schedule. While the approval wasn't surprising, the FDA's decision came much more swiftly than expected.

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