Six out of 10 cancer patients who took part in a clinical trial preferred a subcutaneous injection formulation that improves the existing dosing method of Keytruda, an anticancer drug from Merck (MSD) in the United States.
Alteogen said on the 14th that an abstract containing the clinical results of a preference survey for the subcutaneous injection (SC) formulation of the anticancer drug Keytruda, conducted by U.S. partner MSD, was released at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO2025).
MSD developed a subcutaneous injection (SC) formulation of Keytruda from the existing intravenous (IV) method using Alteogen's formulation-switch technology ATL-B4. While the IV formulation alone takes about 30 minutes for dosing, the SC formulation can be administered within 1 minute or 2 minutes. Corporations have touted the SC formulation's greater dosing convenience over the existing IV method as a competitive edge, and the patient participation survey confirmed this.
In this trial, 147 patients diagnosed with melanoma, kidney cancer, or lung cancer received Keytruda SC 395 mg or Keytruda IV 200 mg once every three weeks for three doses, then switched formulations and received three more doses in the same manner to assess which formulation patients preferred. The disclosed abstract used data collected up to 4/9.
Among 118 evaluable patients, 65% said they preferred "Keytruda SC." When patients were allowed to choose a formulation for dosing following the six-week treatment period, 68% chose Keytruda SC.
Reasons cited for preferring the SC formulation included "short treatment time" and "comfort during dosing." "Less pain at the injection site" followed. In terms of safety, Keytruda SC showed an advantage over the existing intravenous (IV) method. When SC and IV were each administered three times, severe or life-threatening adverse events corresponding to Grade 3–4 occurred in 1% of the SC group and 7% of the IV group.
Park Sun-jae, CEO of Alteogen, said, "The subcutaneous formulation is a dosing method preferred not only by patients but also by medical staff," adding, "It can reduce medical consumables such as IV bags, tubing, and catheters needed for intravenous injection, as well as the treatment time of medical staff, offering the advantage of lowering overall medical system expense."
Keytruda SC received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval last month and was launched as "Keytruda Qurex."