Whether the reimbursement extension for ‘Keytruda’ may be completed by the end of this year remains in question.

According to industry sources, MSD Korea’s PD-1 inhibitor Keytruda (pembrolizumab) was not put on the agenda for deliberation by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service’s Pharmaceutical Benefit Appraisal Committee at the meeting that was held yesterday (11th).

As a result, discussions on extending Keytruda’s reimbursement to first-line treatment in non-small cell cancer (NSCLC) will have to await the PBAC meeting in December. The company still has a long and busy way to go as the agenda needs to pass PBAC deliberations, then undergo drug pricing negotiations