FDA approves Merck's RSV shot for infants, ramping up competition with Sanofi and AstaZeneca

The Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved Merck's shot designed to protect infants from respiratory syncytial virus during their first season of the virus, bringing to market a rival to a similar treatment from Sanofi and AstraZeneca.The decision will allow the company to launch the drug, which will be marketed as Enflonsia, ahead of the RSV season that typically kicks off around fall and winter and lasts through the spring. Merck said in a release that it expects orders for the shot to begin in J ...