FDA to Review Bristol-Myers's Opdivo for Hodgkin Lymphoma
April 14 2016 - 9:20AM
Dow Jones News
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has accepted Bristol-Myers
Squibb Co.'s supplemental biologics license application to expand
the use of its cancer drug Opdivo to patients who are facing
difficult-to-treat variations of Hodgkin lymphoma, the
pharmaceutical company said Thursday.
Bristol-Myers wants to use Opdivo to treat patients with
classical Hodgkin lymphoma—a type of cancer that most often starts
in the lymph nodes—who have already tried other therapies.
The FDA granted the application a priority review. Opdivo,
launched in late 2014 to treat skin cancer, was Bristol's
fastest-growing drug in 2015 with sales of $942 million. The drug
is part of an emerging field of cancer immunotherapies, which work
by unleashing the body's immune system to attack tumors.
"There is a significant burden on classical Hodgkin lymphoma
patients who do not respond to initial treatment, and they need new
treatment options that address the disease in a different way,"
said Jean Viallet, Bristol-Myers' oncology global clinical research
lead.
Some cancer cells are able to exploit the normal operations of
cells to hide from the immune system and shield the tumor from
attack. Opdivo aims to prevent this interference with the body's
anti-tumor response.
In addition to skin cancer, Opvido also is used to treat
non-small cell lung cancer and kidney cancer.
Write to Austen Hufford at austen.hufford@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 14, 2016 09:05 ET (13:05 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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