FDA blesses Merck’s PhIII effort to topple a mega-blockbuster — but there’s also a little biotech in this game

Merck just got a leg up in its quest to leapfrog Pfizer’s best-selling pneumococcal conjugate vaccine Prevnar 13. The FDA is providing its breakthrough drug designation for the pharma giant’s late-stage efforts on V114, adding it to the VIP list for drugs tapped for swift handling.