Pembrolizumab
Brand name: Keytruda
Rank #263 of 500 drugs by total cost
Data: CMS Medicare Part D, 2023 (most current available) · Updated March 2026
$46.9M
Total Cost
3,947
Total Claims
$46.9M
Total Cost
125
Prescribers
$12K
Cost per Claim
140
Beneficiaries
3,968
30-Day Fills
$375K
Avg Cost/Provider
32
Avg Claims/Provider
Share of Medicare Part D Spending
0.02%
of total Medicare Part D spending
$46.9M of $275.65B
Top Prescribers by Cost
Top 10 prescribers of $46.9M total
🔎 Data Overview
At $11,884 per prescription, this is a high-cost medication. Expensive drugs drive Medicare spending growth and create access challenges for patients with coverage gaps.
Average cost of $375,258 per prescriber suggests this drug may be concentrated among specialists. High per-provider spending can sometimes indicate inappropriate prescribing or overly aggressive use.
Average cost of $335,052 per patient per year. Medications at this price point significantly impact patient out-of-pocket costs and Medicare spending.
Insights generated from CMS data analysis. Statistical patterns are not accusations — always consider clinical context.
Top Prescribers of Pembrolizumab
| # | Provider | Specialty | Location | Claims | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manish Dhawan | Hematology-Oncology | Minden, LA | 168 | $2.0M |
| 2 | Songchuan Guo | Hematology-Oncology | Brooklyn, NY | 152 | $1.6M |
| 3 | Youram Nassir | Hematology | Los Angeles, CA | 133 | $1.6M |
| 4 | Suneeta Pinnamaneni | Hematology-Oncology | Leesburg, FL | 95 | $1.1M |
| 5 | David Tamura | Hematology-Oncology | Honolulu, HI | 83 | $1.1M |
| 6 | Jen Chin Wang | Internal Medicine | Long Beach, NY | 91 | $1.1M |
| 7 | Ari Baron | Hematology-Oncology | San Francisco, CA | 78 | $934K |
| 8 | Samuel Bailey | Hematology-Oncology | Hazard, KY | 79 | $932K |
| 9 | Daniel Huang | Hematology-Oncology | Santa Ana, CA | 85 | $925K |
| 10 | Swaty Arora | Hematology-Oncology | Honolulu, HI | 57 | $888K |
| 11 | John Graham | Hematology-Oncology | Canfield, OH | 73 | $883K |
| 12 | Bilawal Ahmed | Hematology-Oncology | Chicago, IL | 70 | $830K |
| 13 | Antoine Chahine | Medical Oncology | Canfield, OH | 66 | $782K |
| 14 | Richards Afonja | Hematology-Oncology | Clifton, NJ | 62 | $758K |
| 15 | Swetha Yadav | Hematology-Oncology | Spring, TX | 63 | $740K |
Top prescribers ranked by total cost for this drug in 2023.
Related Drugs by Cost
| # | Drug | Total Cost | Claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| 260 | Cabotegravir/Rilpivirine (Cabenuva) | $48.1M | 7,384 |
| 261 | Cenobamate (Xcopri) | $47.6M | 33,831 |
| 262 | Clozapine (Clozapine) | $47.0M | 491,951 |
| 263 | Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) | $46.9M | 3,947 |
| 264 | Glipizide (Glipizide) | $46.9M | 2,961,035 |
| 265 | Losartan/Hydrochlorothiazide (Losartan-Hydrochlorothiazide) | $46.3M | 2,039,676 |
| 266 | Darunavir (Prezista) | $46.0M | 21,793 |
Related Analysis
Data from CMS Medicare Part D Prescriber-Drug Public Use File, 2023. Methodology