Bristol Myers Squibb’s (BMS)?oncology R&D pipeline of about 20 compounds in development represents a wide range of proven and potential treatment platforms, including traditional cytotoxins as well as biologics, immunotherapies and other novel and targeted approaches such as Antibody-drug Conjugates (ADCs) in which a cancer-killing drug is linked to a monoclonal antibody. The antibody specifically targets a particular cancer cell antigen, thus ignoring most normal cells and delivering the drug directly to the cancer cell.
The company is conducting about 200 oncology clinical trials, addressing 20 different tumor types. Among the most exciting areas of research is immuno-oncology. Bristol-Myers Squibb?s work in the field of immuno-oncology began in the mid-1990s, and picked up momentum in 2005 when the company formed a collaborative alliance with Medarex Inc, a biotechnology company now owned by BMS and based in Princeton, New Jersey. BMS acquired Medarex in August 2009 and assumed full rights to ipilimumab ? an investigational, naked, therapeutic antibody in late-stage development for metastatic melanoma?which the FDA approved in March 2011 as Yervoy,?and other early-stage investigational cancer compounds. ?As a result, the company is positioning itself for long-term leadership in this area. ?A clinical Phase I trial (NCT00944905) with BMS’s lead ADC candidate, MDX-1203, a duocarmycin-based toxin conjugated to an anti-CD70 Medarex antibody was recently completed. The purpose of this study was to determine if MDX-1203 is safe for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma or non-hodgkin’s lymphoma.
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Web: Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS)
