Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) has announced results from a Phase 2/3 study that found a fixed dose of relatlimab and Opdivo (nivolumab) led to significant progression-free survival (PFS) rates when used as first-line therapy for metastatic or unresectable melanoma.

The RELATIVITY-047 trial found that the median progression-free survival rates were 10.12 months for those receiving the combination therapy. The PFS rate for those receiving Opdivo alone was 4.63 months.

Relatlimab blocks the lymphocyte-activation gene 3 (LAG-3), whereas Opdivo inhibits programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1). “LAG-3 represents a new immunotherapy target, and the results of the RELATIVITY-047 study demonstrated the significant benefit of inhibiting both LAG-3 and PD-1 with the novel combination of relatlimab and nivolumab,” said Dr. F. Stephen Hodi, director of the Melanoma Center and the Center for Immuno-Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, in a statement.

Grade 3/4 drug-related adverse events were somewhat higher in the combination arm (19%) than the Opdivo-only arm (10%). Adverse events led 15% of those in the former group to discontinue therapy, while 7% in the Opdivo arm did.

Bristol Myers Squibb notes that Relatlimab is the first LAG-3-blocking antibody to have a documented benefit for patients in a Phase 3 study.

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Filed Under: clinical trials, Drug Discovery, Drug Discovery and Development, Oncology

 

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