'We're going to miss the next Keytruda': Lilly, Merck, Gilead and PhRMA CEOs talk IRA consequences

Almost 10 years ago, Merck ushered superstar cancer drug Keytruda across the FDA finish line for the first time, starting down a path that would ultimately yield dozens of additional approvals over the years.

It was a “once-in-a-lifetime, lighting-in-a-bottle” discovery that wouldn’t be possible in the same way under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Merck CEO Robert Davis warned at a Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) panel Friday on the sidelines of this year’s annual American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) conference.