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A Virtuous Cycle: What The Immuno-Oncology Revolution Means For Other Disease Areas

 
• By Emily Hayes

Execs from Merck, Pfizer, Bristol, Abbvie and smaller biopharmas weigh in on how developments in cancer research may benefit other disease areas, especially autoimmune and neurological conditions.

Shutterstock: Ralwel
• Source: Shutterstock: Ralwel

Approval in 2011 of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.'s CTLA-4 checkpoint inhibitor Yervoy (ipilimumab) in melanoma signaled the start of the immunotherapy revolution in the field of cancer therapy, followed by the PD-1 inhibitors and with new mechanisms nearing the market. Data presented at the Society for Immunotherapy and Cancer (SITC) annual meeting in November revealed that PD-1/L1 inhibitors such as Bristol's Opdivo (nivolumab) and Merck & Co. Inc.'s Keytruda (pembrolizumab) are being tested in about 1,500 clinical trials, of which 74% are evaluating combination approaches with other immunotherapies and traditional targeted agents. (Also see "Bristol's Strong SITC: IDO, 1L Kidney Cancer And New Mechanism Data Bode Well" - Scrip, 14 November, 2017.)

Development has been fueled by high unmet need and regulatory willingness to speed approvals for drugs aimed at life-threatening diseases. And although immunotherapy has been well established in other fields...

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The pre|CISION Approach: How Avacta Is Making Toxic Cancer Drugs Safe And More Effective

 
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US Health System Redesign Critical, NAM’s Medical Experts Warn Trump Government

 
• By Ashley Yeo

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Podcast: “Powerful Yet Unexplored”: Commit Biologics Tackles The Complement System

 
• By Anabel Costa-Ferreira

Mikkel Wandahl Pederson, CEO and chief scientific officer at Commit Biologics, discussed the company’s mission to harness the powerful complement system for the treatment of serious diseases.

ML-Assisted Genetic Risk Score Predicts GLP-1 Adverse Events

 
• By David Wild

Phenomix Science presented new data at Digestive Disease Week 2025 showing its machine learning-assisted genetic risk score can predict nausea and side effects from GLP-1 receptor agonists, aiding personalized obesity treatment.