NICE recommends Keytruda in first-line NSCLC

Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE:MRK) said U.K.'s NICE issued final guidance recommending Keytruda pembrolizumab be routinely available to treat non-small cell lung cancer. The PD-1 inhibitor is the first immunotherapy to show cost-effectiveness and be recommended by the agency following its exit from the U.K.’s Cancer Drugs Fund, according to the pharma.

The drug is recommended as an option for untreated PD-L1-positive metastatic NSCLC in adults whose tumors express PD-L1 with at least a 50% tumor proportion score and no EGFR or anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive mutations. Additionally, the guidance states that Keytruda should be stopped at two years of uninterrupted treatment or earlier due to disease progression...