Bristol Myers Squibb announced that OpdualagTM (nivolumab and relatlimab-rmbw), a new, first-in-class, fixed-dose combination of nivolumab and relatlimab, administered as a single intravenous infusion, was approved by the FDA to treat adults and pediatric patients 12 years of age or older with unresectable or metastatic melanoma. The approval is based on the Phase 2/3 RELATIVITY-047 trial, which compared Opdualag (n=355) to nivolumab alone (n=359).
The trial met its primary endpoint, progression-free survival (PFS), and Opdualag more than doubled the median PFS when compared to nivolumab monotherapy, 10.1 months (95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 6.4 to 15.7) versus 4.6 months (95% CI: 3.4 to 5.6); (Hazard Ratio [HR] 0.75; 95% CI: 0.62 to 0.92, P=0.0055). The Opdualag safety profile was similar to that previously reported for nivolumab. No new safety events were identified with the combination when compared to nivolumab monotherapy.Grade 3/4 drug-related adverse events were 18.9% in the Opdualag arm compared to 9.7% in the nivolumab arm.2 Drug-related adverse events leading to discontinuation were 14.6% in the Opdualag arm compared to 6.7% in the nivolumab arm.
“Since the approval of the first immune checkpoint inhibitor more than 10 years ago, we’ve seen immunotherapy, alone and in combination, revolutionize the treatment of patients with advanced melanoma,” said F. Stephen Hodi, M.D., director of the Melanoma Center and the Center for Immuno-Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Today’s approval is particularly significant, as it introduces an entirely new combination of two immunotherapies that may act together to help improve anti-tumor response by targeting two different immune checkpoints — LAG-3 and PD-1.”
Opdualag is associated with the following Warnings & Precautions: severe and fatal immune-mediated adverse reactions (IMARs) including pneumonitis, colitis, hepatitis, endocrinopathies, nephritis with renal dysfunction, dermatologic adverse reactions, myocarditis and other immune-mediated adverse reactions; infusion-related reactions; complications of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT); and embryo-fetal toxicity.
“While we have made great progress in the treatment of advanced melanoma over the past decade, we are committed to expanding dual immunotherapy treatment options for these patients,” said Samit Hirawat, chief medical officer, global drug development, Bristol Myers Squibb. “Inhibiting LAG-3 with relatlimab, in a fixed-dose combination with nivolumab, represents a new treatment approach that builds on our legacy of bringing innovative immunotherapy options to patients. The approval of a new medicine that includes our third distinct checkpoint inhibitor marks an important step forward in giving patients more options beyond monotherapy treatment.”
Lymphocyte activation gene-3 (LAG-3) and programmed death-1 (PD-1) are two distinct inhibitory immune checkpoints that are often co-expressed on tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, thus contributing to tumor-mediated T-cell exhaustion. The combination of nivolumab (anti-PD-1) and relatlimab (anti-LAG-3) results in increased T-cell activation compared to the activity of either antibody alone. Relatlimab (in combination with nivolumab) is the first LAG-3-blocking antibody to demonstrate a benefit in a Phase 3 study. It is the third checkpoint inhibitor (along with anti-PD-1 and anti-CTLA-4) for Bristol Myers Squibb.
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