Keytruda (Pembrolizumab)
What is a Generic Drug?
A generic drug is a copy of the brand-name drug with the same dosage, safety, strength, quality, consumption method, performance, and intended use. Before generics become available on the market, the generic company must prove it has the same active ingredients as the brand-name drug and works in the same way and in the same amount of time in the body.
The only differences between generics and their brand-name counterparts is that generics are less expensive and may look slightly different (eg. different shape or color), as trademarks laws prevent a generic from looking exactly like the brand-name drug.
Generics are less expensive because generic manufacturers don't have to invest large sums of money to develop a drug. When the brand-name patent expires, generic companies can manufacture a copy of the brand-name and sell it at a substantial discount.
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Product Details
Description
Keytruda (pembrolizumab) is an intravenous (IV) medication used to treat the following types of cancer:
- Advanced non-small cell lung cancer
- High-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer
- Advanced MSI-H/dMMR colorectal cancer
- Advanced triple-negative breast cancer
- Advanced cervical cancer
- Advanced liver cancer
- Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma
- Melanoma
- Advanced urothelial bladder cancer
- Microsatellite instability-high colorectal cancer
- Classical Hodgkin lymphoma
- Advanced MSI-H/dMMR endometrial cancer
- Advanced Merkel cell carcinoma
- Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma
- Kidney cancer
- High-risk early-stage triple-negative breast cancer
- Advanced gastric cancer
- Primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma
- Advanced esophageal cancer
Directions
Your healthcare provider will determine the right dose of Keytruda for you and how many treatments you should receive. Your healthcare provider will administer the medication through an IV over 30 minutes. Keytruda is usually administered every 3 or 6 weeks.
Talk to your doctor about any questions or concerns you may have about the medication.
Ingredients
The active ingredient in Keytruda is pembrolizumab. Inactive ingredients include L-histidine, polysorbate 80, sucrose, and Water for Injection.
Contraindications
There are no contraindications according to the Keytruda Prescribing Information.
Cautions
- Before you begin treatment with Keytruda, inform your doctor of:
- All the prescription and over-the-counter medications you take
- Your allergies
- Your medical history and current health problems
- Your pregnancy or breastfeeding status
- Keytruda can cause immune system problems that can be severe or life-threatening. These include pneumonitis, colitis, hepatitis, endocrinopathies, nephritis with kidney impairment, dermatologic reactions, and solid organ transplant rejection.
- Keytruda can cause infusion-related reactions, including hypersensitivity and anaphylaxis.
- Keytruda can cause serious or life-threatening complications in patients who receive allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). These reactions include hyperacute graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD), acute GVHD, chronic GVHD, hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD) and can occur after intervening therapy between Keytruda and allogeneic HSCT.
- Patients with multiple myeloma should not receive Keytruda in combination with a thalidomide analogue and dexamethasone unless they are participants in controlled clinical trials.
- Keytruda can cause harm to an unborn baby. Women of childbearing age should use an effective method of birth control.
Side Effects
Common Keytruda side effects include fatigue, musculoskeletal pain, rash, diarrhea, fever, cough, decreased appetite, itching, shortness of breath, constipation, pain, stomach pain, nausea, and hypothyroidism. Other side effects may also occur. Call your doctor right away if you develop side effects that are bothersome or persistent.
Reference:
Keytruda (pembrolizumab) injection, for intravenous use. Whitehouse Station, NJ: Merck & Co., Inc.; 2023.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The above information is intended to increase awareness of health information and does not suggest treatment or diagnosis. This information is not a substitute for individual medical attention and should not be construed to indicate that use of the drug is safe, appropriate, or effective for you. See your health care professional for medical advice and treatment.Product Code : 13731
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