Checkpoint Inhibitor Deals: Searching For IO Combinations To Unlock Cancer’s Black Box

Merck and Bristol-Myers Squibb's market-dominating checkpoint inhibitors are competing to find the next combination therapy to treat more cancer patients, in more types of cancers. Recent failures and new regulatory pressure, however, may have a cooling effect, even as researchers come full circle with PD-l/PD-L1 and CTL-4 combinations. The race is also on to pull new combinations from emerging cell therapy and precision oncology drug candidates.