New Version of Keytruda Speeds Up Cancer Treatment, With Help From Space

A major cancer drug used by patients around the world is getting a faster, easier upgrade, and the work behind it extends all the way into space.

Merck’s widely used cancer treatment, Keytruda, is now available as an injectable, cutting treatment time from at least 30 minutes to about 1 minute every 3 weeks. The improvement is expected to save time for patients and healthcare workers while also helping lower treatment costs.

The change was made possible in part by research conducted aboard the International Space Station. According to NASA, Merck Research Labs has sent crystal growth experiments to the space station for more than 10 years. These experiments focused on understanding how protein crystals form in microgravity, an environment where gravity does not interfere with crystal growth.

In space, crystals can grow larger and more evenly than they do on Earth. That matters because Keytruda is a protein-based drug, and the way its proteins are structured affects how readily the medicine dissolves into liquid. Better crystal structures helped scientists develop a concentrated form of the drug that can be safely injected under the skin instead of delivered through an intravenous line.

Keytruda is part of a class of treatments called immunotherapy. Rather than directly attacking cancer cells, the drug helps the body’s immune system recognize and fight them. Since it was first approved in 2014, Keytruda has been used to treat several cancers, including melanoma, lung cancer, and certain head and neck cancers.

For patients, the new injectable version could make a meaningful difference. Shorter appointments mean less time spent in clinics or hospitals, which can be physically and emotionally draining. For medical centers, quicker treatments may allow staff to care for more patients in a day, easing scheduling pressures and reducing costs tied to long infusion sessions.

NASA says this collaboration highlights how space research often leads to practical benefits on Earth. While the International Space Station is best known for studying space and Earth science, it also serves as a unique laboratory for medical and industrial research that cannot be done the same way on the ground.

The updated version of Keytruda shows how discoveries made hundreds of miles above Earth can directly improve everyday healthcare. As space research continues, scientists expect more advances like this, where lessons learned in orbit help solve real-world problems back home.