Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) discussion paper for CaTSoP meeting of October 2020

6 August 2021

Dear [name and contact details withheld] 

Request for information 

Thank you for your request dated 20 July 2021 under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA) for information relating to pembrolizumab (Keytruda). You requested: 

the discussion paper that PHARMAC prepared for CATSOP at the October 2020 meeting, for pembrolizumab for treatment of recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer. 

Please find attached with this response letter, a copy of the discussion paper presented to the Cancer Treatments Subcommittee (CaTSoP) for the meeting of 15 and 16 October 2020.

We have redacted information we consider to be commercially sensitive, namely in relation to pricing. In particular, we have redacted a small amount of information from the documents as we consider this is necessary to:

• protect information where the making available of the information would be likely to unreasonably prejudice the commercial position of the person who supplied or who is the subject of the information (section 9(2)(b)(ii)) and
• protect information which is subject to an obligation of confidence or which any person has been or could be compelled to provide under the authority of any enactment, where the making available of the information would be likely to prejudice the supply of similar information, or information from the same source, and it is in the public interest that such information should continue to be supplied (section 9(2)(ba)(i)).

As required under the OIA, we also considered whether, in the circumstances, the withholding of this information was outweighed by other considerations which render it desirable, in the public interest, to make this information available. In this case we did not consider that the public interest outweighed the reasons for withholding the information.

Please note you have the right, by way of complaint under section 28(3) of the OIA to an Ombudsman, to seek an investigation and review of our decision.

We trust that this information answers your queries. We are making our information more freely available, so we now publish selected OIA responses (excluding personal details) on our website. Please get in touch with us if you have any questions about this.

Yours sincerely

Rachel Read
Manager, Policy and Government Services