Bristol Myers Opdivo-Yervoy combo misses main goal in late-stage skin cancer trial

The trial was testing Bristol-Myers' drugs Opdivo and Yervoy, against Opdivo alone, in patients with advanced melanoma.

New Delhi: Bristol-Myers Squibb Co said on Wednesday a late-stage trial testing a combination of its cancer drugs missed the main goal of preventing skin cancer from recurring in a certain group of patients, sending its shares down nearly 1%.

The company said the trial will continue unchanged as per the recommendation of a data monitoring committee.

The trial was testing Bristol-Myers' drugs Opdivo and Yervoy, against Opdivo alone, in patients with advanced melanoma.

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The combination failed to show a statistically significant benefit in patients whose tumours had 1% or lower levels of the PD-L1 protein being targeted, the company said.

The American Cancer Society estimates that about 96,480 melanoma cases will be diagnosed in the United States this year. Bristol-Myers shares were trading at $55.99 before the bell.

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