Bristol Myers' Opdivo extends survival in bladder cancer study
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[July 12, 2023]
(Reuters) -Bristol Myers Squibb Co said on Tuesday its
blockbuster cancer immunotherapy, Opdivo, in combination with
chemotherapy improved survival in patients with a type of bladder cancer
in a late-stage trial.
The drug met the dual main goals of extending overall survival and
helping patients live without their disease worsening, in combination
with chemotherapy followed by Opdivo, in the study testing it against
standard-of-care chemotherapy.
Opdivo was being studied in patients with types of urothelial carcinoma,
or bladder cancer, who are eligible for standard-of-care cisplatin-based
chemotherapy.
The drug, first approved in 2014, is one of the top selling treatments
for Bristol Myers, with analysts forecasting $8.3 billion in sales for
the year, according to Refinitiv estimates.
But the drug's sales have slowed in recent years after rival Merck &
Co's Keytruda, which was approved in 2016, became the market leader in
the treatment for the most common form of lung cancer.
In 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the use of
Opdivo to include the treatment of some types of bladder cancer.
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![](../images/071223PIX/health49.jpg)
Boxes of Opdivo from Bristol Myers are
seen at the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah in
Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S., July 22, 2022. REUTERS/George Frey/File
Photo
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2023/Jul/12/images/ads/current/businessdirectory_dailycover_2023.png) It was also approved by the FDA a
few years later, as an adjuvant or follow-up treatment for bladder
cancer patients who are at a high risk of recurrence after
undergoing radical resection.
Bladder cancer is the tenth most common form of the disease in the
world, with more than 573,000 new cases diagnosed annually,
according to Bristol Myers.
(Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini
Ganguli)
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