On 31 October 2024, Merck, known as MSD outside the US and Canada, published its Q3 2024 financial results, including 17% growth (21% excluding foreign exchange impact) in Keytruda® (pembrolizumab) sales, to US $7.4 billion. This growth is attributed to increased global uptake in earlier-stage indications of Keytruda®, including triple-negative breast cancer, renal cell carcinoma and non-small cell lunch cancer (NSCLC), together with continued global demand for metastatic indications.
The increased global uptake of Keytruda® is reported to have helped drive MSD’s total global sales for Q3 2024 to US$16.7 billion, an increase of 4% year on year.
Recent regulatory milestones for Keytruda® include: the FDA approval in September 2024 of Keytruda® plus pemetrexed and platinum chemotherapy as first-line treatment for unresectable advanced or metastatic malignant pleural mesothelioma; approvals in Europe for Keytruda® plus Padcev® as first-line treatment of unresectable or metastatic urothelial carcinoma (September 2024) and two gynaecological cancers (October 2024, marking the 30th EU approval); and approvals in Japan for certain patients with NSCLC and for radically unresectable urothelial carcinoma (September 2024).