It is a weak argument because as the article states these drugs have been approved by the FDA and DCVax is not. These FDA approvals may have carried more weight with the PIM decision.
Merck will provide Keytruda for free to eligible skin cancer patients in the U.K., the company said. Keytruda is already approved in the U.S. to treat skin cancer and is under regulatory review in Europe. Bristol-Myers Squibb's (BMY) Opdivo, a cancer immunotherapy similar to Keytruda, is also approved in the U.S. to treat skin cancer and a certain type of lung cancer.