Bristol-Myers Squibb reports positive data for cancer drug Yervoy

Bristol-Myers Squibb has presented new data at the European Society for Medical Oncology congress showcasing the survival benefits of its metastatic melanoma drug Yervoy.

Long-term follow-up data from the phase III study 024 demonstrated that 19 percent of treatment-naive patients receiving an investigational dose of 10 mg/kg in combination with dacarbazine (DTIC) were alive after four years.

This compares to only 9.6 percent of survivors among a control group receiving DTIC alone, while overall survival data was shown to be relatively stable between years three and four.

Furthermore, data from three phase II studies also showed that Yervoy delivered promising survival results over a five-year period.

Dr Celeste Lebbe, professor of dermatology at the Hopital Saint-Louis, said: "These results add to the growing body of long-term survival data seen in some patients treated with Yervoy and further our understanding of the potential of this immunotherapy in the treatment of metastatic melanoma."

Yervoy was released in the UK last year and was the first new melanoma treatment to be launched since the 1970s.