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ASCO conference: Nektar, Bristol-Myers combo shrinks tumors in 3 cancer types

Nektar Therapeutics' NKTR-214 in combination with Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.'s Opdivo shrank the tumors of patients with certain advanced cancers in a phase 1/2 trial.

Opdivo is a programmed cell death protein 1, or PD-1 inhibitor, that boosts immune cells' ability to kill cancer cells, and NKTR-214 is designed to activate specific cancer-fighting immune cells directly in the tumor and increase expression of PD-1 on these immune cells.

The drug combination was evaluated in the study, named Pivot, which included patients with stage IV metastatic melanoma, or skin cancer, renal cell carcinoma or kidney cancer, and urothelial cancers — a type of bladder cancer.

Nektar and Bristol-Myers said the therapy achieved pre-specified efficacy criteria in all three types of tumors.

In the melanoma group of 13 patients, the combination shrank the tumor partially, also called a partial response, or made it disappear, known as a complete response, in 11 of patients.

Additionally, the drug combination shrank tumors in eight of the 13 melanoma patients whose cancer expressed the programmed death-ligand 1, or PD-L1, protein — a protein on the surface of cancer cells that suppresses the immune system. Out of the 12 melanoma patients who were PD-L1 negative, five saw a reduction in the size of their tumors.

The companies added that seven out of 11 patients achieved a partial response in the kidney cancer group and six out of 10 patients with urothelial cancer reported either a partial or complete response.

A reduction in tumor size was seen in nine of the 17 PD-L1 negative patients in the kidney cancer group, while two of the seven PD-L1 positive patients saw their tumors shrink. For the patients with urothelial cancer, three out of five PD-L1 negative patients and the same number of the PD-L1 positive patients saw a reduction in their tumors.

In addition, the study data showed the conversion of PD-L1 negative status to PD-L1 positive status in nine of the 17 patients, with 78% of previously PD-L1 negative patients registering tumor shrinkage.

The companies will launch a phase 3 trial in first-line advanced melanoma patients in the third quarter.

Nektar and Bristol-Myers Squibb entered a collaboration in February to jointly develop and commercialize NKTR-214 in combination with Opdivo or with the combination of Opdivo plus Yervoy in more than 20 indications across nine tumor types.

The companies may also explore potential combinations with other anti-cancer agents from each other's portfolio or third parties.