Bridget Phillipson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Bridget Phillipson on 2015-10-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what his Department’s policy is on making the drug Keyruda available for cancer treatment in the NHS.

George Freeman

Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) for the treatment of advanced melanoma, which has spread or cannot be removed by surgery and has progressed after other treatments, is the first drug to be given a positive scientific opinion through the Early Access to Medicines Scheme (EAMS). NHS England has undertaken to fund the use of EAMS products routinely within 30 days of National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance being published.

NICE published final guidance on pembrolizumab on 7 October 2015 which recommends its use for the treatment of advanced melanoma after disease progression with ipilimumab.

NICE is also appraising pembrolizumab for advanced melanoma that has not been previously treated with ipilimumab and published final draft guidance which recommends its use on 9 October 2015. NICE’s final guidance is expected to be published in November 2015.