NICE rejects Merck's Keytruda for triple-negative breast cancer

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Recently, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) issued a draft guidance rejecting approval of Merck's anti-PD-1 therapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) in combination with chemotherapy for the treatment of metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (mTNBC).

In the draft guideline, the agency said that while the Keytruda-chemo combination is more effective than chemotherapy alone, its long-term benefits are uncertain

For Keytruda, NICE said, "its cost-benefit estimates are above what is generally considered acceptable by NHS resources"

Roche Tecentriq was previously rejected by NICE in the draft guidelines

TNBC is an extremely aggressive form of breast cancer that lacks effective therapeutic targets and has few treatment options other than surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy

Merck said in a statement that it was disappointed with the NICE draft guidance, but that the company would work with NICE to try to find a way for patients to use Keytruda

Reference source: NICE says no to Keytruda in triple-negative breast cancer