pembrolizumab

A new personalized mRNA cancer therapy, intismeran autogene, combined with KEYTRUDA, reduced melanoma recurrence or death risk by 49% over five years in a phase 2b study. The treatment, developed by Merck and Moderna, showed sustained benefits and a manageable safety profile in high-risk melanoma patients. It is now in phase 3 trials.

ICIJ investigated how Merck & Co. and other pharmaceutical companies used a dense web of patents to extend market exclusivity for Keytruda, a cancer drug, delaying affordable alternatives and keeping prices high. The analysis revealed strategies like patenting minor drug modifications and combinations to reset exclusivity periods, while price variations and lawsuits in Latin America highlighted patient struggles.

A UK-led trial has shown promising results for colorectal cancer treatment using pembrolizumab immunotherapy before surgery, keeping patients cancer-free for nearly three years. This approach challenges the standard method of surgery followed by months of chemotherapy. Patients received just nine weeks of pembrolizumab prior to surgery.

Patients with stage 2 or 3 bowel cancer remained cancer-free nearly three years after receiving an experimental immunotherapy treatment. The trial involved 32 patients and used a drug called pembrolizumab before surgery. The results showed that none of the patients have seen a return of the disease after almost three years of follow-up.

Thousands of cancer patients in England will benefit from a new immunotherapy treatment called pembrolizumab, which can treat several types of cancer and be administered in under two minutes. The NHS announced this new treatment, which kills cancer cells by blocking a protein called PD-1. This allows the immune system to recognise and attack cancer cells.