NICE Finds Keytruda Not Cost-Effective in Bladder Cancer

The UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence ruled that Merck’s cancer immunotherapy Keytruda is not cost-effective in metastatic urothelial carcinoma.

The agency said it had trouble finding an appropriate model to assess the drug’s cost-effectiveness, but said “all plausible estimates” put the cost-effectiveness higher than it considers acceptable for end-of-life treatments.

NICE said the pre-discount price of £2,630 ($3,425) per 100 mg vial is too high even though the drug is likely to extend patient lives by more than three months.