Merck Helps/Merck Access Program
Merck Helps offers a full suite of support services, including the Merck Patient Assistance Program, the Merck Access Program, and the Merck Co-pay Assistance Program.
The complete list of Merck oncology drugs and their patient support programs is provided in the Table.
Merck Helps
Merck Patient Assistance Program
This private and confidential program provides certain products free of charge for up to 1 year to eligible individuals, primarily the uninsured, who could otherwise not afford needed Merck medicines. Eligibility criteria will apply.
To enroll your patient in the Merck Patient Assistance Program, visit MerckHelps.com and select the prescribed drug from the menu.
Merck Access Program
This program provides eligible patients who have been prescribed Emend for oral suspension or Keytruda with access and support services, including insurance coverage and benefits investigations, prior authorizations, and appeals; reimbursement; copay assistance for Keytruda; as well as referrals to the Merck Patient Assistance Program.
Merck Co-pay Assistance Program
Some patients may also be eligible for copay assistance. To enroll your patient in the Merck Access Program, including the Merck Co-pay Assistance Program, visit MerckAccessProgram.com.
TABLE Merck Oncology/Supportive Care Drugs
Keytruda (pembrolizumab) Indications
Melanoma
- for the treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma
- for the adjuvant treatment of adult and pediatric (≥12 years) patients with stage IIB, IIC, or III melanoma following complete resection
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
- in combination with carboplatin and either paclitaxel or paclitaxel protein-bound, as first-line treatment of patients with metastatic squamous NSCLC
- 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-approved test, with no EGFR or ALK genomic tumor aberrations, and is stage III where patients are not candidates for surgical resection or definitive chemoradiation, or metastatic
- as a single agent for the treatment of patients with metastatic NSCLC whose tumors express PD-L1 (TPS ≥1%) as determined by an FDA-approved test, with disease progression on or after platinum-containing chemotherapy. Patients with EGFR or ALK genomic tumor aberrations should have disease progression on FDA-approved therapy for these aberrations prior to receiving Keytruda.
- for the treatment of patients with resectable (tumors ≥4 cm or node positive) NSCLC in combination with platinum-containing chemotherapy as neoadjuvant treatment, and then continued as a single agent as adjuvant treatment after surgery
- as a single agent, for adjuvant treatment following resection and platinum-based chemotherapy for adult patients with stage IB (T2a ≥4 cm), II, or IIIA NSCLC
Head and Neck Squamous Cell Cancer (HNSCC)
- in combination with platinum and fluorouracil for the first-line treatment of patients with metastatic or with unresectable, recurrent HNSCC
- as a single agent for the first-line treatment of patients with metastatic or with unresectable, recurrent HNSCC whose tumors express PD-L1 (combined positive score [CPS] ≥1) as determined by an FDA-approved test
- as a single agent for the treatment of patients with recurrent or metastatic HNSCC with disease progression on or after platinum-containing chemotherapy, or classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL)
- for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory cHL
- for the treatment of pediatric patients with refractory cHL, or cHL that has relapsed after ≥2 lines of therapy
Primary Mediastinal Large B-Cell Lymphoma (PMBCL)
- for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with refractory PMBCL, or who have relapsed after ≥2 prior lines of therapy
Urothelial Carcinoma
- in combination with enfortumab vedotin, for the treatment of adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma who are not eligible for cisplatin-containing chemotherapy
- as a single agent for the treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma who are not eligible for any platinum-containing chemotherapy, or who have disease progression during or following platinum-containing chemotherapy or within 12 months of neoadjuvant or adjuvant treatment with platinum-containing chemotherapy
- as a single agent for the treatment of patients with bacillus Calmette-Guérin–unresponsive, high-risk, non–muscle invasive bladder cancer with carcinoma in situ with or without papillary tumors who are ineligible for or have elected not to undergo cystectomy
Microsatellite Instability-High (MSI-H) or Mismatch Repair Deficient Cancer (dMMR)
- for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with unresectable or metastatic MSI-H or dMMR solid tumors, as determined by an FDA-approved test, that have progressed following prior treatment and who have no satisfactory alternative treatment options
MSI-H or dMMR Colorectal Cancer (CRC)
- for the treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic MSI-H or dMMR CRC as determined by an FDA-approved test
Gastric Cancer
- in combination with trastuzumab, fluoropyrimidine- and platinum-containing chemotherapy, for the first-line treatment of adults with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic HER2-positive gastric or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) adenocarcinoma whose tumors express PD-L1 (CPS ≥1) as determined by an FDA-approved test
- in combination with fluoropyrimidine- and platinum-containing chemotherapy, for the first-line treatment of adults with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic HER2-negative gastric or GEJ adenocarcinoma
Esophageal Cancer
- for the treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic esophageal or GEJ (tumors with epicenter 1-5 cm above the GEJ) carcinoma that is not amenable to surgical resection or definitive chemoradiation either in combination with platinum- and fluoropyrimidine-based chemotherapy, or as a single agent after ≥1 prior lines of systemic therapy for patients with tumors of squamous cell histology that express PD-L1 (CPS ≥10) as determined by an FDA-approved test
Cervical Cancer
- in combination with chemotherapy, with or without bevacizumab, for the treatment of patients with persistent, recurrent, or metastatic cervical cancer whose tumors express PD-L1 (CPS ≥1) as determined by an FDA-approved test
- as a single agent for the treatment of patients with recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer with disease progression on or after chemotherapy whose tumors express PD-L1 (CPS ≥1) as determined by an FDA-approved test
Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC)
- for the treatment of patients with HCC who have been previously treated with sorafenib
Biliary Tract Cancer (BTC)
- in combination with gemcitabine/cisplatin, for the treatment of patients with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic BTC
Merkel Cell Carcinoma (MCC)
- for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with recurrent locally advanced or metastatic MCC
Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC)
- in combination with axitinib, for the first-line treatment of adult patients with advanced RCC
- in combination with lenvatinib, for the first-line treatment of adult patients with advanced RCC
- for the adjuvant treatment of patients with RCC at intermediate-high or high risk of recurrence following nephrectomy, or following nephrectomy and resection of metastatic lesions
Endometrial Carcinoma
- in combination with lenvatinib, for the treatment of patients with advanced endometrial carcinoma that is mismatch repair proficient as determined by an FDA-approved test or not MSI-H, who have disease progression following prior systemic therapy in any setting and are not candidates for curative surgery or radiation
- as a single agent, for the treatment of patients with advanced endometrial carcinoma that is MSI-H or dMMR, as determined by an FDA-approved test, who have disease progression following prior systemic therapy in any setting and are not candidates for curative surgery or radiation
Tumor Mutational Burden-High (TMB-H) Cancer
- for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with unresectable or metastatic TMB-H (≥10 mutations/megabase) solid tumors, as determined by an FDA-approved test, who have progressed following prior treatment and who have no satisfactory alternative treatment options
Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma (cSCC)
- for the treatment of patients with recurrent or metastatic cSCC or locally advanced cSCC that is not curable by surgery or radiation
Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC)
- for the treatment of patients with high-risk early-stage TNBC in combination with chemotherapy as neoadjuvant treatment, and then continued as a single agent as adjuvant treatment after surgery
- in combination with chemotherapy, for the treatment of patients with locally recurrent unresectable or metastatic TNBC whose tumors express PD-L1 (CPS ≥10) as determined by an FDA approved test
Adult Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma and Adult Primary Mediastinal Large B-Cell Lymphoma: Additional Dosing Regimen of 400 mg Every 6 Weeks
- for use at an additional recommended dosage of 400 mg every 6 weeks for classical Hodgkin lymphoma and primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma in adults