Clear survival benefit for B-MS' Opdivo in advanced melanoma patients

17 November 2014

US drug major Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMY) has announced positive results from a study comparing Opdivo (nivolumab) to dacarbazine (DTIC) in patients with treatment naïve BRAF wild-type advanced melanoma.

The Phase III randomized double blind CheckMate -066 study met the primary endpoint of overall survival (OS) with the median OS not reached for Opdivo versus 10.8 months for DTIC. The one-year survival rate was 73% for Opdivo vs 42% for DTIC and there was a 58% decrease in the risk of death for patients treated with Opdivo (Hazard Ratio for death [HR]: 0.42, P<0.0001). This survival advantage was also observed in Opdivo-treated patients in both PD-L1 positive and PD-L1 negative patients.

The results were published yesterday in The New England Journal of Medicine and presented at the Society for Melanoma Research 2014 International Congress in Zurich, Switzerland.

This article is accessible to registered users, to continue reading please register for free. A free trial will give you access to exclusive features, interviews, round-ups and commentary from the sharpest minds in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology space for a week. If you are already a registered user please login. If your trial has come to an end, you can subscribe here.

Try before you buy

Free

7 day trial access

Take a Free Trial

All the news that moves the needle in pharma and biotech
Exclusive features, podcasts, interviews, data analyses and commentary from our global network of life sciences reporters.
Receive The Pharma Letter daily news bulletin, free forever.

Become a subscriber

£820

Or £77 per month

Subscribe Now

Unfettered access to industry-leading news, commentary and analysis in pharma and biotech.
Updates from clinical trials, conferences, M&A, licensing, financing, regulation, patents & legal, executive appointments, commercial strategy and financial results.
Daily roundup of key events in pharma and biotech.
Monthly in-depth briefings on Boardroom appointments and M&A news.
Choose from a cost-effective annual package or a flexible monthly subscription

The Pharma Letter is an extremely useful and valuable Life Sciences service that brings together a daily update on performance people and products. It’s part of the key information for keeping me informed

Chairman, Sanofi Aventis UK