FDA Blocked Melanoma Drug as Confusion Reigned Under Makary By Arthur Allen May 15, 2026

https://kffhealthnews.org/health-industry/fda-blocked-melanoma-drug-marty-makary-confusion-reigned/?utm_campaign=KHN%3A%20First%20Edition&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8n-SCNRDw3JH3hL11OvfjJxlyI6GNQ1_UiVdm_sbk16HA_WsgWVVn0rU9E49fzaqub-c-9qebinS0cAkRatug6Yjdmdg&_hsmi=418930543&utm_content=418930543&utm_source=hs_email KFF Health News: FDA Blocked Melanoma Drug As Confusion Reigned Under Makary The FDA’s recent decision to withhold approval of a new skin cancer treatment fell like a hammer on doctors who treat melanoma and patients who saw that the drug had prolonged the lives of a third of the participants in a clinical trial. “It was devastating news,” said Trisha Wise-Draper, a dermatologist at the University of Cincinnati who had patients enrolled in the trial.“ This is life or death for maybe 2,000 patients,” added Eric Whitman, medical director of the Atlantic Health System’s oncology service. A Wall Street Journal editorial assailed the ruling, noting that it “will have a chilling effect on drug development.” (Allen, 5/15)