AbbVie and Bristol-Myers Squibb to study new lung cancer combinations

AbbVie and Bristol-Myers Squibb are to ally on research into potentially promising new combination therapies for lung cancer.

The clinical trial collaboration will evaluate the safety, tolerability and efficacy of AbbVie's Rova-T in combination with Bristol-Myers Squibb's Opdivo and Opdivo plus Yervoy regimen in the treatment of relapsed extensive-stage small cell lung cancer.

Bristol-Myers Squibb's immuno-oncology agents are designed to alleviate immune suppression in lung cancer patients, while Rova-T is an investigational biomarker-specific antibody drug conjugate that targets and eliminates tumour-initiating cells.

This collaboration will determine whether the targeted cell killing and antigen release caused by Rova-T can further enhance the beneficial effects of immunotherapy. 

Dr Scott Dylla, vice-president for research and development at AbbVie, said: "We hope to build on our goal to develop differentiated treatments with therapeutic benefit that elevate the standard of care for small-cell lung cancer patients."

This comes in the same week that AbbVie received a new EU approval for Viekirax, its treatment for hepatitis C.