🇮🇪Ireland
16°C Partly Cloudy · Dublin
Live Updates
--:--:-- IST
Writer Login
Latest
University of Galway to Lead New €64.5m Research Ireland Rinn Medical Devices Centre Chanelle Pharma Renews Historic Partnership with Galway Races Summer Festival 2026 The Distortion of Irish GDP: How 'Phantom Exports' Are Reshaping the Biopharma Landscape The Anatomy of a Biologics Warning Letter: Deconstructing Genzyme Waterford’s FDA Audit The Dublin-Backed Roll-Up Reshaping UK Pharma Packaging: Inside Woodberry's Double Acquisition The Pill That Promised a Revolution: Why Eli Lilly's Foundayo Is Launching Slower Than Wall Street Expected Speed Over Scrutiny? The High-Stakes Gamble Behind the NHS's New Fast-Track Drug Pilots A Global Milestone for Wellness: Chanelle McCoy Health Secures Historic Dual SFDA and European Novel Food Regulatory Approvals University of Galway to Lead New €64.5m Research Ireland Rinn Medical Devices Centre Chanelle Pharma Renews Historic Partnership with Galway Races Summer Festival 2026 The Distortion of Irish GDP: How 'Phantom Exports' Are Reshaping the Biopharma Landscape The Anatomy of a Biologics Warning Letter: Deconstructing Genzyme Waterford’s FDA Audit The Dublin-Backed Roll-Up Reshaping UK Pharma Packaging: Inside Woodberry's Double Acquisition The Pill That Promised a Revolution: Why Eli Lilly's Foundayo Is Launching Slower Than Wall Street Expected Speed Over Scrutiny? The High-Stakes Gamble Behind the NHS's New Fast-Track Drug Pilots A Global Milestone for Wellness: Chanelle McCoy Health Secures Historic Dual SFDA and European Novel Food Regulatory Approvals

← All drug comparisons

Keytruda vs Imfinzi

Pembrolizumab  ·  Durvalumab

Both are checkpoint inhibitors. Here is how Keytruda and Imfinzi compare on class, mechanism, dosing, approval and supply.

At a glance

KeytrudaPembrolizumab
ImfinziDurvalumab
Brand name
Keytruda
Imfinzi
Drug class
PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor
PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitor
Route
Intravenous
Intravenous
Marketed by
Merck Sharp & Dohme
AstraZeneca
First FDA approval
4 Sep 2014
1 May 2017
US shortage
Not listed
Not listed

Key differences

What each one treats

KeytrudaPembrolizumab

KEYTRUDA is a programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1)-blocking antibody indicated: Melanoma for the treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma. ( 1.1 ) for the adjuvant treatment of adult and pediatric (12 years and older) patients with Stage IIB, IIC, or III melanoma following complete resection. ( 1.1 ) Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) in combination with pemetrexed and platinum chemotherapy, as first-line treatment of patients with metastatic nonsquamous NSCLC, with no EGFR or ALK genomic tumor aberrations. ( 1.2 ) in combination with carboplatin and either paclitaxel or paclitaxel protein-bound, as first-line treatment of patients with metastatic squamous NSCLC. ( 1.2 ) as a single agent for the first-line treatment of patients with NSCLC expressing PD-L1 [Tumor Proportion Score (TPS) ≥1%] as determined by an FDA-authorized test, with no EGFR or ALK genomic tumor ab…

ImfinziDurvalumab

IMFINZI is a programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) blocking antibody indicated: • in combination with platinum-containing chemotherapy as neoadjuvant treatment, followed by IMFINZI continued as a single agent as adjuvant treatment after surgery, for the treatment of adult patients with resectable (tumors ≥ 4 cm and/or node positive) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and no known epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations or anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) rearrangements. ( 1.1 ) • as a single agent, for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable, Stage III NSCLC whose disease has not progressed following concurrent platinum-based chemotherapy and radiation therapy. ( 1.1 ) • in combination with tremelimumab-actl and platinum-based chemotherapy, for the treatment of adult patients with metastatic NSCLC with no sensitizing EGFR mutations or ALK genomic tumor aberrations. ( 1.1…

How each one works

KeytrudaPD-1 checkpoint inhibitor

12.1 Mechanism of Action Binding of the PD-1 ligands, PD-L1 and PD-L2, to the PD-1 receptor found on T cells, inhibits T cell proliferation and cytokine production. Upregulation of PD-1 ligands occurs in some tumors and signaling through this pathway can contribute to inhibition of active T-cell immune surveillance of tumors. Pembrolizumab is a monoclonal antibody that binds to the PD-1 receptor and blocks its interaction with PD-L1 and PD-L2, releasing PD-1 pathway-mediated inhibition of the immune response, including the anti-tumor immune response. In syngeneic mouse tumor models, blocking PD-1 activity resulted in decreased tumor growth. In syngeneic mouse tumor models, combination treat…

ImfinziPD-L1 checkpoint inhibitor

12.1 Mechanism of Action Expression of programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1) can be induced by inflammatory signals (e.g., IFN-gamma) and can be expressed on both tumor cells and tumor-associated immune cells in the tumor microenvironment. PD-L1 blocks T-cell function and activation through interaction with PD-1 and CD80 (B7.1). By binding to its receptors, PD-L1 reduces cytotoxic T-cell activity, proliferation, and cytokine production. Durvalumab is a human immunoglobulin G1 kappa (IgG1κ) monoclonal antibody that binds to PD-L1 and blocks the interaction of PD-L1 with PD-1 and CD80 (B7.1). Blockade of PD-L1/PD-1 and PD-L1/CD80 interactions releases the inhibition of immune responses, with…

Related comparisons

Keytruda VS Opdivo Keytruda VS Tecentriq Opdivo VS Imfinzi Tecentriq VS Imfinzi

Read more

Keytruda profile Imfinzi profile Checkpoint Inhibitors All comparisons
This is not medical advice, and not a recommendation of one drug over the other.

Which medicine is right for a given person depends on their diagnosis, other conditions, other medicines, kidney and liver function, pregnancy, and cost or reimbursement — none of which this page knows. Two drugs in the same class are not automatically interchangeable. Never start, stop or switch a prescription medicine on the basis of a web page; that decision belongs to you and your clinician or pharmacist.

Class and summary text is written by the Priya Life Science editorial team. Label, mechanism, route, manufacturer and approval data come from the U.S. FDA via the openFDA API; shortage status from the FDA Drug Shortage Database. Approvals, indications and brand names differ between the US, EU/Ireland (EMA/HPRA) and other regions — a drug approved in one may not be approved, or may carry a different name, in another.