Pembrolizumab is a highly selective IgG4-kappa humanized monoclonal antibody against PD-1 receptors. It was generated by grafting the variable sequences of a very high-affinity mouse antihuman PD-1 antibody onto a human IgG4-kappa isotype containing a stabilizing S228P Fc mutation. It contains 32 cysteine residues and the complete folded molecule includes 4 disulfide linkages as interchain bonds and 23 interchain bonds. It was developed by Merck & Co and first approved for the treatment of metastatic malignant melanoma by the FDA on September 4, 2014, becoming the first approved therapy against PD-1. In the time since its initial approval, pembrolizumab has been granted approval in the treatment of a wide variety of cancers.
Pembrolizumab is indicated for the following conditions:
For all approved adult indications, pembrolizumab may be used for an additional 6 weeks at 400mg weekly.
Novartis Investigative Site, London, United Kingdom
Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States
CTRC @ The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, United States
UCLA Medical Hematology & Oncology, Los Angeles, California, United States
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York, United States
Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute, Sarasota, Florida, United States
National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
Providence Portland Medical Center, Portland, Oregon, United States
University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States
Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, Texas, United States
Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, Texas, United States
University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, United States
National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, United States
Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States
University of Texas, Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, United States
University of Kansas, Westwood, Kansas, United States
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