28 August 2020 - MSD’s Keytruda (pembrolizumab) in combination with Pfizer's Inlyta (axitinib) has been turned down by NICE as first-line treatment for patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma.

The anti-PD-1 therapy combo was approved in Europe in September 2019 based on findings from the pivotal Phase III KEYNOTE-426 trial, which demonstrated that the drug reduced the risk of death by 47% compared with sunitinib in the indication.

However, NICE says while “short-term clinical trial evidence” shows that the combination is more effective than sunitinib for people with untreated renal cell carcinoma, “it is uncertain if there is a long-term benefit,” which means that “cost-effectiveness estimates are uncertain”.

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