Keytruda subcutaneous injection to launch on October 1
Merck & Co. said Thursday it plans to launch a subcutaneous injection of its best-selling cancer immunotherapy, Keytruda, in the U.S. market on October 1.
The subcutaneous injection of the drug has not yet been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and a decision on that is expected on September 23.
Merck said that by injecting Keytruda subcutaneously instead of intravenously, it will reduce the time it takes for patients to receive the drug.
Keytruda, which is approved to treat many types of cancer, was the world’s best-selling prescription drug in 2024, with sales of nearly $30 billion.
According to data presented by the company at the European Lung Cancer Congress, the average injection time for the subcutaneous version of Keytruda is two minutes and for the infusion version is about 30 minutes.
