Bristol-Myers Squibb reported positive results this week from a late-stage clinical trial that the company said could be a “breakthrough in cancer research.”
According to the company, its immunotherapy Opdivo was shown to prolong the lives of patients with lung cancer when used in combination with another one of its drugs, Yervoy.
Bristol-Myers is currently in a race with other drugmakers Merck, Roche and AstraZeneca to capture the multibillion-dollar immunotherapy market for cancer.
Because the drug combination was successful in helping patients with high tumor mutation burden, Bristol-Myers said the breakthrough could change the way other cancers are treated as well.
The results of the study were focused on progression-free survival — or how long before the patient’s cancer worsens. The company said it is still awaiting overall survival rates. But because the preliminary findings were promising, the independent Data Monitoring Committee said that the study should be allowed to continue.
Read the full Reuters report.