Worth ignoring I-O risks for potential rewards, says report

The success of leading immune checkpoint inhibitors Opdivo (nivolumab) and Keytruda (pembrolizumab) appear to be making the lure of researching cancer immunotherapies almost irresistible for many drug developers in oncology.

That is the impression given by a new report from business intelligence provider GBI Research, which states that these drugs encompass more than a third of all those in development for cancer.

The report is not surprising – at the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) in Madrid this month, immuno-oncology appeared  very much the dominant field in cancer research, to the point where the Financial Times has reported that pharma is struggling to find enough patients for some of its studies.