Bristol-Myers Lung-Cancer Drug Disappoints in Trial Analysis
- Drugmaker says trial design may have influenced negative data
- Bristol-Myers results contrast with Merck’s in similar group
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Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.’s immune-based therapy Opdivo fell short of already low expectations in study results that throw into question whether the drug can help lung-cancer patients who’ve just been diagnosed.
Opdivo wasn’t superior to chemotherapy even in patients with high levels of a protein called PD-L1, which has been thought to be a predictor of how well the immune-system drugs will work, Bristol-Myers said in results presented Sunday at the European Society for Medical Oncology meeting in Copenhagen. The data came from a detailed analysis of the Checkmate-26 study, whose main results were released in August, causing Bristol-Myers’ stock to slump.