The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted its First accelerated approval for a cancer treatment for solid tumours that have specifically identified genetic features, regardless of the place in the body that the tumour originates. The approval of the Merck-developed checkpoint inhibitor, called Keytruda, was welcomed by the cancer community, however, it was also noted that not enough sequencing is taking place, due to costs, resulting in a "treatment stalemate" meaning few may benefit from targeted therapies until the stalemate is broken and molecular profiling can move forward. In the US, Keytruda has a list price of $12,500 per patient per month.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted its first accelerated approval for a cancer treatment for solid tumours that have specifically identified genetic features, regardless of the place in the body that the tumour originates. The approval of the Merck-developed checkpoint inhibitor, called Keytruda, was welcomed by the cancer community, however, it was also noted that not enough sequencing is taking place, due to costs, resulting in a "treatment stalemate" meaning few may benefit from targeted therapies until the stalemate is broken and molecular profiling can move forward. In the US, Keytruda has a list price of $12,500 per patient per month.