Cramer Quick Take: Focus on ASCO

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- "Mad Money" Research Director Nicole Urken met with TheStreet's Jim Cramer to discuss some powerful cancer-fighting procedures that have begun to emerge.

With the American Society of Clinical Oncology conference wrapping up this week in Chicago, some old-name pharmaceutical stocks are getting a boost for their recent progress on cancer-fighting techniques.

Two names that Cramer and Urken continue to like are Merck ( MRK) and Bristol-Myers ( BMY).

The new PD-1 procedure, which involves using the patient's immune system to target and fight cancerous cells, hasn't seemed to gain much traction until now.

This technique is something that Gilead ( GILD) is looking at, even though the company has been focused on treating HIV and hepatitis C. BioMarin ( BMRN) is also looking at entering the space.

"These are all positive names with long-term drivers," Urken said, adding that they are "also helping improve people's lives and fight disease."

-- Written by Bret Kenwell in Petoskey, Mich.