Bristol-Myers Squibb Co has announced that its immunotherapy drug Opdivo has failed to meet the main goal of a late-stage trial testing it in patients with an aggressive form of tumour that affects the brain or the spine, reports Reuters Health.
Opdivo, used in combination with radiation therapy, failed to extend survival in patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), when compared with the chemotherapy temozolomide and radiation therapy.
The report says GBM is the most common type of tumour that forms in the nervous system. The standard treatment involves surgery, along with radiation therapy and chemotherapy.
Opdivo is Bristol’s growth driver and brought in $1.8bn in first-quarter sales.
The report says the drug is already approved as a treatment for types of skin, lung and kidney cancers, and faces fierce competition for other immunotherapies including those from rivals Merck & Co Inc and Roche Holding.
[link url="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bristol-myers-cancer/bristol-myers-opdivo-fails-late-stage-brain-cancer-trial-idUSKCN1SF1B8"]Reuters Health report[/link]