Opdivo + Cabometyx receives FDA approval for advanced renal cell carcinoma

Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on linkedin
Share on email
Share on print

FDA has approved a combination of Opdivo (nivolumab) and Cabometyx (cabozantinib) as first-line treatment for patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma.

Opdivo is sponsored by Bristol-Myers Squibb and Cabometyx is sponsored by Exelixis.

Efficacy was evaluated in CHECKMATE-9ER (NCT03141177), a randomized, open-label trial in patients with previously untreated advanced RCC. Patients were randomized to receive either nivolumab 240 mg over 30 minutes every two weeks in combination with cabozantinib 40 mg orally once daily (n=323) or sunitinib 50 mg orally daily for the first four weeks of a six-week cycle (four weeks on treatment followed by two weeks off) (n=328).

The trial demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in progression-free survival, overall survival, and confirmed overall response rate for patients treated with Opdivo plus Cabometyx compared with those who received sunitinib. Median PFS per blinded independent central review (BICR) was 16.6 months versus 8.3 months; HR 0.51 (95% CI: 0.41, 0.64).

Median OS was not reached in either arm; HR 0.60 (95% CI: 0.40, 0.89). Confirmed ORR per BICR was 55.7% and 27.1% in the nivolumab plus cabozantinib and sunitinib arms, respectively.

Table of Contents

YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN

For nearly 25 years, business executive Lou Weisbach and urologist Richard J. Boxer have argued that finding the money to finance the cures for devastating diseases is not as difficult as it appears. To start finding the cures, the U.S. Department of the Treasury needs to issue some bonds—$750 billion worth. Next, you hire CEOs—one...

There is general agreement that the United States spends too much on health care, especially on pharmaceuticals.  But what we spend on drugs is not simply a function of price. If eggs double in price, people can simply cut the number of eggs they eat in half.  Simply stated, cost is the product of (price per unit times the number of units purchased). 
What did President Richard M. Nixon and Senator Edward M. Kennedy have in common? They each played a pivotal role in the passage of the National Cancer Act signed by Nixon on Dec. 23, 1971. The NCA established the National Cancer Program authorizing the initial investment in the NCI-designated Cancer Centers Program. 
When I first proposed targeting PCNA (proliferating cell nuclear antigen) as a therapeutic approach, the response I got was: “No one will ever make a drug against PCNA. It’s undruggable.” The protein lacks enzymatic activity, has a disordered region, and binds to over 200 other proteins within the cell. From a traditional drug development perspective, these characteristics made PCNA an impossible target.

Never miss an issue!

Get alerts for our award-winning coverage in your inbox.

Login