BRIEF—New NICE recommendation for Keytruda combination

Keytruda (pembrolizumab) has become the first immunotherapy in combination with pemetrexed and chemotherapy to be recommended by the UK's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for routine commissioning.

Merck & Co’s blockbuster drug has been recommended in England as a first-line option for untreated, metastatic, non-squamous non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in adults whose tumours have no epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-positive or anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive mutations and whether or not tumors are PD-L1 positive.

David Long, oncology business unit director at Merck, which is known as MSD outside North America, added: “We really welcome this latest decision from NICE to approve the continued use of pembrolizumab in combination with chemotherapy for these lung cancer patients.

“That these patients across the UK are now going to routinely have treatment options irrespective of their PD-L1 biomarker status is important for the patient and clinical community alike. This is yet another example of a successful working relationship between MSD, NICE and NHS England to sustain timely access to the latest innovations in cancer care.”