Vietnam’s Ministry of Health has approved Pembroria, a Russian-made cancer drug containing pembrolizumab, giving local patients access to a new treatment option.
According to the Drug Administration under the Ministry of Health, Pembroria is among 14 vaccines and biological products licensed for circulation at the end of October.
The medicine, produced by Russia’s Limited Liability “PK-137” and registered by a facility in the United Arab Emirates, contains 100 mg of pembrolizumab per 4 ml. It is formulated as a concentrated solution for intravenous infusion and has a shelf life of 24 months from the date of manufacture.
Pembroria has a wide range of indications, used to treat several types of cancer including lung carcinoma, melanoma, colorectal cancer, cervical cancer, renal cell carcinoma and breast cancer. Health authorities said its approval expands access to advanced immunotherapy treatments for Vietnamese patients.
The drug is a monoclonal antibody developed based on the original reference medicine by U.S. pharmaceutical company MSD (Merck & Co.), which has been licensed globally since 2017 for cancer treatment.
Professor Le Van Quang, director of K Hospital, a leading cancer facility in Hanoi, said the hospital will soon make Pembroria available for patient use. However, it is not yet covered by Vietnam’s health insurance system. Each vial costs about VND18 million ($700), and patients typically require two vials per treatment cycle.
Vietnam currently has 99 cancer drugs in circulation.
Source: VN Express