Opdivo Bristol-Myers does not reach the goal of the lung cancer study

(Reuters) – Bristol-Myers Squibb Co said on Friday that its flagship cancer drug, Opdivo, was not reaching the main goal of an advanced phase-out trial on patients suffering from cancer. a type of lung cancer, whose condition had recurred after chemotherapy.

The drug has failed to prolong the overall survival of patients with small cell lung cancer, an aggressive form of the disease, compared to patients already on chemotherapy.

Opdivo has already been approved to treat several forms of cancer, including skin and lung cancer.

As the leading cause of cancer death, lung cancer represents the greatest opportunity for companies seeking to harness the power of modern cancer treatments.

The drug's inability to achieve its primary goal in the study came nearly two months after the US Food and Drug Administration approved the drug to treat patients whose lung cancer had progressed despite two previous treatments.

The drug competes with Merck & Co's Keytruda and belongs to a class of treatments that activate the immune system to attack tumors.

Opdivo's Bristol net sales in the second quarter were $ 1.63 billion, while Merck's keytruda was $ 1.67 billion.