Gastric cancer's Japanese death toll makes latest Opdivo nod a big one

22 September 2017

With the leading pair of immuno-oncology (I-O) agents Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and Opdivo (nivolumab) seemingly scoring new approvals by the month in major markets, it would be easy to ignore the importance of the latest nod for the latter drug in Japan.

Opdivo, which is being jointly developed and commercialized in the Asian country by US pharma major Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) and Japan’s Ono Pharmaceutical (TYO: 4528), has been approved by Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare for the treatment of unresectable advanced or recurrent gastric cancer which has progressed after chemotherapy.

"Gastric cancer took approximately 50,000 lives in Japan last year"

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