The hard questions about new mediocre cancer drugs

Spending millions on drugs with limited benefits and a finite budget costs other patients

There has been much focus in recent months on the drug Pembro (pembrolizumab) arising from its proposed role in the treatment of cervical cancer.

Pembro is one of a number of immune checkpoint inhibitors that enhance the body’s immune system in combating cancer. They offer a new therapeutic approach with improved tolerability. They are also extremely expensive.

The first immune checkpoint inhibitor we assessed was Ipilimumab, dubbed ‘Ippy’, for the treatment of advanced ...