The immunotherapy ‘Keytruda’ finally overcame one giant hurdle for its reimbursement, with ‘Tecentriq.’

According to industry sources, the PD-1 inhibitors – MSD Korea’s ‘Ketyruda (pembrolizumab) and Roche Korea’s ‘Tecentriq (atezolizumab)’ – passed deliberations by the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service’s Cancer Drug Review Committee for its first-line indication for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) yesterday (14th).

However, differences exist between the criteria under which the two drugs gained the nod. Keytruda’s is for monotherapy and in combination with chemotherapy for patients with a PD-L1 expression rate of 50% or higher, and Tecentriq’s is as