As We've Long Said, Keytruda's "Off-Patent" Date Will NOT Be As Soon As 2028... Much More Like 2040, Now...

It is gratifying to see MSM now actually adopting my long-term explanations, and reporting. . . that (as many in the pharma space know) US patents on juggernaut therapies may often be "evergreened", by new methods of delivery, or coatings or combinations with other compounds.

We have long been sanguine that Merck would get well into the 2030s with Keytruda^® on patent. Now it seems 2040 may be reachable. Again, this is good news for a stable cash flow model, at Merck, as pembrolizumab now accounts for close to one third of all sales. The new patents would cover a delivery under the skin rather than via an I.V. line. Here's that, from Reuters:

. . .Merck's patents on the subcutaneous version of Keytruda could protect that formulation until at least 2040, according to Tahir Amin, co-founder of drug patents watchdog group Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge (I-MAK). . . .

Yep -- now you know. . . with an older vintage graphic, solely for expediency. . . feeling rather. . . lazy, today. Smile.

नमस्ते