Keytruda may be a miracle cancer drug, but can those who need it afford it?
- Written by Nicholas Huntington, Laboratory Head, Molecular Immunology, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute
Keytruda (generic name pembrolizumab) is an immunotherapy drug manufactured by the company Merck & Co. It is most commonly used to treat melanoma, and was listed for this use by Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration in April 2015.
In March 2017, the TGA extended approval for Keytruda to treat a specific type of lung cancer called non small-cell lung carcinoma. In the same month it was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for classical Hodgkin lymphoma, and the TGA later also approved it for this condition.
Read more: The fourth pillar: how we're arming the immune system to help fight cancer
Authors: Nicholas Huntington, Laboratory Head, Molecular Immunology, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute