Treating Sqamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC) of head and neck is still a hard nut to crack even for renowned pharmaceutical companies with comparatively better drugs and significant R&D muscle.
In phase III trials of Bristol Myers Squibb’s Opdivo and Yervoy, for measuring their efficacy and safety in platinum-eligible patients with recurrent or metastatic SCCHC, the two drugs failed to give any significant statistical advantage over Extreme treatment regimen in first-line SCCHC.
Opdivo won the approval as a monotherapy for adult patients with recurrent or metastatic SCCHN after platinum-based therapy, in Europe and U.S. in 2016. However, the recent frontline study has shown that the two drugs have fallen short in beating Extreme formula of cetuximab, fluorouracil and cisplatin/carboplatin.
“Opdivo plus Yervoy showed a positive overall survival trend relative to Extreme … despite the control arm performing better than expected based on historical data,” as said by BMS’s Thoracic Cancers Chief, Abderrahim Oukessou, “We remain committed to advancing research and supporting patients with this difficult-to-treat cancer.”
But at the same time, the duo of the two drugs has yielded some positive outcomes in other five tumors of different kinds, which include non-small cell lung cancer, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, metastatic melanoma, advanced renal cell carcinoma and malignant pleural mesothelioma.
The fact that there are few options for cancer, has bothered many renowned pharmaceutical companies. Merck KGaA and Pfizer’s Bavencio fell flat in treating SCCHC in Javelin trial, last year.
Opdivo was launched in 2014, just at the time when Merck and Co. launched Keytruda, Opdivo’s rival drug. Unfortunately, Keytruda left behind BMS’s drug in the race by generating $14.4 billion globally, last year. Whereas, Opdivo’s was just $7 billion.
BMS’s Opdivo and Yervoy fail to show efficacy and safety in squamous head and neck cancer
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