Vol. 6 No. 3 (2026)
Reimbursement Reviews

Pembrolizumab (Keytruda)

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Published March 13, 2026

Key Messages

  • Reimbursement reviews are comprehensive assessments of the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness, as well as patient and clinician perspectives, of a drug or drug class.
  • The assessments inform nonbinding recommendations that help guide the reimbursement decisions of Canada’s federal, provincial, and territorial governments, with the exception of Quebec.
  • This review assesses pembrolizumab (Keytruda), 100 mg/4 mL vial, solution for infusion.
  • Indication: For the treatment of adult patients with HNSCC whose tumours express PD-L1 (CPS ≥ 1), as determined by a validated test, as neoadjuvant treatment as monotherapy, continued as adjuvant treatment in combination with RT with or without cisplatin and then as monotherapy.