KENILWORTH (NJ) (dpa-AFX) - Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) gained over 5%
on Wednesday after the drug giant said that the FDA has approved its lung
disease drug.

MRK is currently trading at $131.83, up $6.31 or 5.03%, on the Nasdaq. The stock
opened its trading at $132.87 after closing Tuesday at $125.52. The stock has
traded between $99.14 and $133.10 in the past 52-week period.

Merck said that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved
sotatercept-csrk or Winrevair for the treatment of adults with pulmonary
arterial hypertension to increase exercise capacity, improve WHO functional
class, and reduce the risk of clinical worsening events.

Winrevair was previously granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation by the FDA.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension is a rare, progressive and ultimately
life-threatening disease in which blood vessels in the lungs thicken and narrow,
causing significant strain on the heart.



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