US pharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb is struggling to keep up with its rival Merck & Co., after the clinical results of its study on immunotherapy drugs Opdivo and Yervoy did not show a statistical benefit. While the combination of Bristol-Myers' two drugs did help lung cancer patients live three months longer on average than just treating with chemotherapy, the 2,200-patient CheckMate-227 study did not reach the high bar set by Merck's Keytruda first-line treatment drug. The study, which was published in JAMA Internal Medicine, found that while both medicines were effective at reducing tumor growth, they had no effect on overall survival or quality of life.
US pharmaceutical company Bristol-Myers Squibb is struggling to keep up with its rival Merck & Co., after the clinical results of its study on immunotherapy drugs Opdivo and Yervoy did not show a statistical benefit. While the combination of Bristol-Myers' two drugs did help lung cancer patients live three months longer on average than just treating with chemotherapy, the 2,200-patient CheckMate-227 study did not reach the high bar set by Merck's Keytruda first-line treatment drug. Bristol-Myers' relative-risk reduction of 14% falls short of Keytruda's 51% reduced risk of death, giving Merck a 60% share of the metastatic lung cancer market.