BMY:Opdivo Shows High Overall Response Rate Of 87% For Relapsed Or Refractory HL

(RTTNews) - Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY) announced positive results from a cohort of patients in its ongoing Phase 1b STUDY (CheckMate -039), that assessed PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor, Opdivo, in patients with relapsed or refractory hematological malignancies. According to the company, results demonstrated high levels of response in patients with relapsed or refractory classical Hodgkin Lymphoma or HL, with an overall response rate of 87% and stable disease in 13%.

For patients with HL, initial treatment includes chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy, followed by an autologous stem cell transplant or ASCT, provided the disease recurs. For those who relapse within a year after receiving a standard of care like ASCT, the median survival is only 1.3 years after progression.

CheckMate -039 results support the first Breakthrough Therapy Designation for Opdivo, granted in May 2014 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat HL patients after failure of autologous stem cell transplant and brentuximab. Bristol-Myers Squibb has proposed the name Opdivo, which, if approved by health authorities, would serve as the trademark for nivolumab.