Drug Discovery and Development

  • Home Drug Discovery and Development
  • Drug Discovery
  • Women in Pharma and Biotech
  • Oncology
  • Neurological Disease
  • Infectious Disease
  • Resources
    • Video features
    • Podcast
    • Webinars
  • Pharma 50
    • 2025 Pharma 50
    • 2024 Pharma 50
    • 2023 Pharma 50
    • 2022 Pharma 50
    • 2021 Pharma 50
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE

BMS Announces Mixed Data for Opdivo at ESMO 2016

By Ryan Bushey | October 12, 2016

A batch of mixed data paints a hazy picture for the future of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s immunotherapy Opdivo.

First, results from one study had shown patients taking Opdivo fared worse than those who were on a chemotherapy treatment regimen, reported Reuters.

The purpose of this investigation was too see how Opdivo could assist the immune system in fighting cancer as an initial treatment for advanced lung cancer. Patients taking the drug lived a 4.2 month period before the disease worsened versus individuals who were solely on chemotherapy, which was a 5.9 month period.

Analysts were disappointed with these results although the difference wasn’t deemed statistically significant, wrote Reuters.

The expectation was that Opdivo could generate $840 million in sales for the second quarter, but these results coupled with a previous announcement when BMS revealed the candidate didn’t beat out older chemotherapies in a phase 3 trial complicates these financial prospects.

READ MORE: Positive Data on Merck’s Keytruda Drug for Lung Cancer Presented at ESMO 2016

Plus, Merck & Co’s Keytruda, a rival drug, demonstrated it could reduce the risk of disease progression in half for previously treated patients also decreasing overall deaths by 40 percent compared with chemotherapy. This news means Merck will have an advantage over the market segment featuring first-line lung cancer patients with high PD-L1 expression levels.

However, one upside for BMS is that Opdivo elicited impressive survival rates when compared to Keytruda in a study focusing on head and neck cancer patients, explained FiercePharma.

The CheckMate-141 study enrolled second-line patients with recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. They reported that Opdivo provided stabilized symptoms and functioning over the first 15 weeks of therapy.

Keytruda previously gained approval from the FDA in August for head and neck cancer because it achieved a 16 percent response rate from study participants where 82 percent of them were still responding treatment six months later at the conclusion of the trial.

Opdivo, though, could have the edge since the drug was able to boost the median survival rate from 5.1 months to 7.5 with an approximate 36 percent of study participants living for at least 12 months.

These results were announced on Sunday at the European Society for Medical Oncology’s annual meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark.


Filed Under: Drug Discovery

 

Related Articles Read More >

Lokavant’s Spectrum v15 uses AI to cut trial-feasibility modeling from weeks to minutes
Prime time for peptide-based drug discovery 
Why smaller, simpler molecular glues are gaining attention in drug discovery
Glass vial, pipette and woman scientist in laboratory for medical study, research or experiment. Test tube, dropper and professional female person with chemical liquid for pharmaceutical innovation
Unlocking ‘bench-to-bedside’ discoveries requires better data sharing and collaboration
“ddd
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest news and trends happening now in the drug discovery and development industry.

MEDTECH 100 INDEX

Medtech 100 logo
Market Summary > Current Price
The MedTech 100 is a financial index calculated using the BIG100 companies covered in Medical Design and Outsourcing.
Drug Discovery and Development
  • MassDevice
  • DeviceTalks
  • Medtech100 Index
  • Medical Design Sourcing
  • Medical Design & Outsourcing
  • Medical Tubing + Extrusion
  • Subscribe to our E-Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • R&D World
  • Drug Delivery Business News
  • Pharmaceutical Processing World

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search Drug Discovery & Development

  • Home Drug Discovery and Development
  • Drug Discovery
  • Women in Pharma and Biotech
  • Oncology
  • Neurological Disease
  • Infectious Disease
  • Resources
    • Video features
    • Podcast
    • Webinars
  • Pharma 50
    • 2025 Pharma 50
    • 2024 Pharma 50
    • 2023 Pharma 50
    • 2022 Pharma 50
    • 2021 Pharma 50
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE