FDA approved Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and Keytruda Qlex (pembrolizumab and berahyaluronidase alfa-pmph) in combination with Padcev (enfortumab vedotin-ejfv), as neoadjuvant treatment and then continued after cystectomy as adjuvant treatment, for the treatment of adult patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer who are ineligible for cisplatin-based chemotherapy. These approvals represent the first PD-1 inhibitor plus ADC regimens for this patient population.
By law, the Food and Drug Administration is required to determine whether a drug, device, biologic, or medical device is “safe and effective.” But the FDA determination does not control whether the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will pay for it. To satisfy CMS, medical products and services must be “reasonable and necessary,” meaning...
