Japanese pair join trial of Opdivo combo

A Phase III trial is to start testing the combination of the PD1 immune checkpoint inhibitor Opdivo (nivolumab) and the tyrosine kinase inhibitor Cabometyx (cabozantinib) in Japan, extending a study going on elsewhere.

Japanese drugmakers Ono Pharmaceutical (TYO: 4528) and Takeda (TYO: 4502) are to collaborate in the trial to test the combination’s efficacy and safety as a potential treatment for Cabometyx (cabozantinib) renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in Japan.

They will join a trial that has been going on outside Japan under a collaboration involving Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BM), the US pharma major that holds rights to Opdivo outside Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, and French drugmaker Ipsen (Euronext: IPN), the rights holder for Cabometyx outside Japan and the USA.