Opdivo is the first and only Immuno-Oncology agent to demonstrate overall survival advantage in patients with unresectable advanced or recurrent gastric cancer refractory to, or intolerant of, standard therapy

PRINCETON, NJ, USA I November 10, 2016 I Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY) announced today that ONO-4538-12, a Phase 3, randomized, double-blind clinical trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of Opdivo (nivolumab) in patients with unresectable advanced or recurrent gastric cancer refractory to, or intolerant of, standard therapy, met its primary endpoint of overall survival (OS). Ono Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. of Japan, Bristol-Myers Squibb’s development partner for Opdivo, conducted the ONO-4538-12 trial. The companies will work with investigators on the future presentation of the study results.

Fouad Namouni, M.D., head of development, Oncology, Bristol-Myers Squibb, commented, “Patients with advanced or recurrent gastric cancer generally have a poor prognosis, and there are currently no standard-of-care treatment options for patients who fail to respond to or who are intolerant of standard chemotherapy. With the results from the ONO-4538-12 study, Opdivo is now the first Immuno-Oncology agent to demonstrate a survival benefit for this patient population.”

About ONO-4538-12

ONO-4538-12 is a multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, Phase 3 clinical trial conducted in Japan, Korea and Taiwan, aiming to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Opdivo in patients with unresectable advanced or recurrent gastric cancer, including gastroesophageal junction cancer, refractory to, or intolerant of, standard therapy. In this study, Opdivo 3 mg/kg or placebo was administered every two weeks until disease progression or discontinuation due to unacceptable toxicity. The primary endpoint, overall survival, was assessed for the superiority of Opdivo versus placebo.

About Gastric Cancer

Gastric cancer, also known as stomach cancer, is the fifth most common malignancy in the world, with more than 950,000 patients diagnosed each year, and is the third leading cause of cancer-related death, with more than 720,000 deaths reported annually. Gastric cancer is more common in men than in women, and the average age at diagnosis is 69 years. While the five-year survival rate for people with gastric cancer is 30.4%, this rate falls to 5% for those whose gastric cancer has metastasized (or spread). Though chemotherapy has been offering some activity in tumor shrinkage as a treatment for unresectable advanced or recurrent gastric cancer, there remains an important unmet medical need in this setting.

Bristol-Myers Squibb: At the Forefront of Immuno-Oncology Science & Innovation

At Bristol-Myers Squibb, patients are at the center of everything we do. Our vision for the future of cancer care is focused on researching and developing transformational Immuno-Oncology (I-O) medicines that will raise survival expectations in hard-to-treat cancers and will change the way patients live with cancer.

We are leading the scientific understanding of I-O through our extensive portfolio of investigational and approved agents, including the first combination of two I-O agents in metastatic melanoma, and our differentiated clinical development program, which is studying broad patient populations across more than 20 types of cancers with 11 clinical-stage molecules designed to target different immune system pathways. Our deep expertise and innovative clinical trial designs uniquely position us to advance the science of combinations across multiple tumors and potentially deliver the next wave of I-O combination regimens with a sense of urgency. We also continue to pioneer research that will help facilitate a deeper understanding of the role of immune biomarkers and inform which patients will benefit most from I-O therapies.

We understand making the promise of I-O a reality for the many patients who may benefit from these therapies requires not only innovation on our part but also close collaboration with leading experts in the field. Our partnerships with academia, government, advocacy and biotech companies support our collective goal of providing new treatment options to advance the standards of clinical practice.

About Opdivo

Opdivo is a programmed death-1 (PD-1) immune checkpoint inhibitor that is designed to uniquely harness the body’s own immune system to help restore anti-tumor immune response. By harnessing the body’s own immune system to fight cancer, Opdivo has become an important treatment option across multiple cancers.

Opdivo’s leading global development program is based on Bristol-Myers Squibb’s scientific expertise in the field of Immuno-Oncology and includes a broad range of clinical trials across all phases, including Phase 3, in a variety of tumor types. To date, the Opdivo clinical development program has enrolled more than 25,000 patients. The Opdivo trials have contributed to gaining a deeper understanding of the potential role of biomarkers in patient care, particularly regarding how patients may benefit from Opdivo across the continuum of PD-L1 expression.

In July 2014, Opdivo was the first PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor to receive regulatory approval anywhere in the world. Opdivo is currently approved in more than 57 countries, including the United States, the European Union and Japan. In October 2015, the company’s Opdivo and Yervoy combination regimen was the first Immuno-Oncology combination to receive regulatory approval for the treatment of metastatic melanoma and is currently approved in more than 47 countries, including the United States and the European Union.

U.S. FDA-APPROVED INDICATIONS FOR OPDIVO ®

OPDIVO® (nivolumab) as a single agent is indicated for the treatment of patients with BRAF V600 wild-type unresectable or metastatic melanoma.

OPDIVO® (nivolumab) as a single agent is indicated for the treatment of patients with BRAF V600 mutation-positive unresectable or metastatic melanoma. This indication is approved under accelerated approval based on progression-free survival. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in confirmatory trials.

OPDIVO® (nivolumab), in combination with YERVOY® (ipilimumab), is indicated for the treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma. This indication is approved under accelerated approval based on progression-free survival. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in the confirmatory trials.

OPDIVO® (nivolumab) is indicated for the treatment of patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with progression on or after platinum-based chemotherapy. Patients with EGFR or ALK genomic tumor aberrations should have disease progression on FDA-approved therapy for these aberrations prior to receiving OPDIVO.

OPDIVO® (nivolumab) is indicated for the treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) who have received prior anti-angiogenic therapy.

OPDIVO® (nivolumab) is indicated for the treatment of patients with classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) that has relapsed or progressed after autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and post- transplantation brentuximab vedotin. This indication is approved under accelerated approval based on overall response rate. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in confirmatory trials.

About the Bristol-Myers Squibb and Ono Pharmaceutical Collaboration

In 2011, through a collaboration agreement with Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd (Ono), Bristol-Myers Squibb expanded its territorial rights to develop and commercialize Opdivo globally except in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, where Ono had retained all rights to the compound at the time. On July 23, 2014, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Ono further expanded the companies’ strategic collaboration agreement to jointly develop and commercialize multiple immunotherapies – as single agents and combination regimens – for patients with cancer in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

About Bristol-Myers Squibb

Bristol-Myers Squibb is a global biopharmaceutical company whose mission is to discover, develop and deliver innovative medicines that help patients prevail over serious diseases. For more information about Bristol-Myers Squibb, visit us at BMS.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and Facebook.

SOURCE: Bristol-Myers Squibb