UNSPSC 51111786: Pembrolizumab

Pembrolizumab is a humanized antibody used in cancer immunotherapy that treats melanoma, lung cancer, head and neck cancer, Hodgkin lymphoma, stomach cancer, cervical cancer, and certain types of breast cancer. It is given by slow injection into a vein.

UNSPSC 51111786 Pembrolizumab is a Commodity code, but the recent state and local opportunities posted under it do not reflect procurement of the immunotherapy drug itself. Instead, the opportunities tagged to this code span pharmacy services, pharmaceutical distribution infrastructure, naloxone and drug deactivation systems, forensic drug standards, and EMS medication-management software—a wide range of health-sector pharmaceutical-adjacent services and goods that fall outside the scope of a specific oncology therapeutic agent. The mismatch between the code's nominal scope and recent solicitation activity signals that the code receives little directly relevant procurement interest at the state and local level, or that the categorization applied by issuing bodies diverges substantially from the code's intended use. State and local governments do not appear to be actively procuring Pembrolizumab itself under this code.

The opportunities that do appear under this code originate from county health departments, city fire departments, forensic laboratories, mental health systems, and long-term care facilities across Florida, Oregon, Arizona, Texas, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia. Representative activities include pharmaceutical distribution and inventory management (Dane County's RFP for Badger Prairie Health Care Center pharmaceutical services, due October 22, 2026, structured as a five-year contract), emergency medical services pharmaceutical and supply procurement with software integration (City of Tucson Fire Department's RFP for BLS/ALS pharmaceuticals and VendNovation vending-machine services), and community health initiatives such as naloxone and drug deactivation system purchases (Seminole County's IFB for 1,900 units of Naloxone and 800 Safe Drug Deactivation Systems annually). The geographic spread and issuing-body mix reflect typical state and local health-sector procurement patterns, but the activities themselves—pharmacy network services, emergency supply distribution, substance-abuse intervention products—do not align with the Pembrolizumab code's apparent design.