Print“We are entering a new era for melanoma, and are committed to studying exciting combinations with investigational medicines in our own pipeline.”
Hitting a hard-to-treat cancer like metastatic melanoma with a one-two punch could be more effective than a single blow. In an effort to find out, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Roche have teamed up to investigate BMS’ recently approved melanoma drug Yervoy in combination with Roche’s experimental drug vemurafenib, to treat patients with certain forms of metastatic melanoma.
The announcement comes on the eve of the annual American Society of Clinical Oncology conference where both companies will present data on their cancer drugs. Under their agreement, the two companies will conduct a phase 1/2 study to determine the safety and efficacy of the combination, and will follow with further development if they work well together.
The hope is that the drugs could complement each other since they have different targets. BMS’ Yervoy is a recombinant human monoclonal antibody that targets the CTLA-4 antigen, a negative regulator of T-cell activation. It demonstrated a significant improvement in overall survival in late-stage trials and received U.S. Food and Drug Administration marketing approval for the treatment of patients with inoperable or metastatic melanoma in late March.
Roche’s vemurafenib is a personalized cancer drug that targets the BRAF V600E mutation that has shown strong positive results in late stage trials. The BRAF V600 mutation is found in about half of all metastatic melanoma cases. The company filed for marketing approval of the drug in both Europe and the United States in mid-May.
Roche is pursuing a broad development program with vemurafenib, which includes additional combinations as well as studies in other tumor types.
“We have made significant progress in treating metastatic melanoma and hope to further improve outcomes by combining two agents that target this deadly disease in different ways,” says Hal Barron, chief medical officer and head of global product development at Roche. “We are entering a new era for melanoma, and are committed to studying exciting combinations with investigational medicines in our own pipeline.”
June 03, 2011
http://www.burrillreport.com/article-bms_and_roche_come_together_to_treat_metastatic_melanoma.html
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