Recent investigations have found an alarming rise of a counterfeit market in Keytruda fuelled by lack of access for most patients, and use of standardised high dosing that increases costs.
About Keytruda:
It is the brand name of pembrolizumab, an immunotherapy drug used for treating several cancers.
It was manufactured by US-based global pharma major Merck & Co (MSD)
It belongs to a class called “checkpoint inhibitors” — drugs that remove the brakes preventing the body’s T cells, which are a crucial weapon in the body’s immune system, from attacking cancerous cells.
In other words, it uses the body’s own immune system to fight cancer.
It belongs to the category ofmonoclonal antibodies.
Monoclonal antibodies are laboratory-made molecules designed to bind with specific targets, enabling the immune system to identify and destroy cancerous cells.
Working:
Pembrolizumab works by attaching to receptors called PD-1 on T cells.
This prevents T cells from binding with corresponding PD-L1 receptors on cancer cells, letting them identify the abnormal cells and triggering an immune response.
It was first approved by the US FDA in 2014 for advanced skin cancer.
Keytruda is now used globally for certain lung cancers, cervical cancer, renal cell cancer and aggressive breast cancer, among others.
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