News Summary: Drug news ups Merck, Bristol stocks
News Summary: Shares of Merck, Bristol jump on encouraging results on new type of cancer drug
ENCOURAGING RESULTS: Early testing of a new type of cancer-fighting drugs, under development by Merck, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Roche, shows they appear to shrink tumors and extend lives in patients with deadly advanced skin cancer.
NEW STRATEGY: The antibody drugs work by helping the immune system spot cancer cells that otherwise would be "invisible," so that powerful immune system cells called T-cells can target and destroy the cancer cells.
FUTURE PROMISE: The drugs already are being tested on other cancers. Analysts say if they're approved, they could be the backbone of future drug combinations for the toughest cancer types.
