Bristol-Myers Squibb New Data Evaluating The Safety And Preliminary Relapse-Free Survival Of Adjuvant Yervoy (Ipilimumab) 3 Mg/Kg And 10 Mg/Kg In Resected High-Risk Melanoma Patients Presented At ASCO

PRINCETON, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY) today announced results of an interim descriptive analysis from an ongoing National Cancer Institute (NCI) Phase 3 randomized study evaluating Yervoy (ipilimumab) 3 mg/kg and Yervoy 10 mg/kg in patients with stage III or resectable stage IV melanoma who are at high risk of recurrence following complete surgical resection. In this unplanned analysis of relapse-free survival (RFS) in concurrently randomized patients between the two experimental arms RFS at three years was 56% (n=367) for Yervoy 3 mg/kg (95% CI: 0.50, 0.61) and 54% (n=406) for Yervoy 10 mg/kg (95% CI: 0.49, 0.60).

All-Cause Grade 3/4 adverse events (AEs) were experienced by 53% of patients in the Yervoy 3mg/kg arm (n=516) and 66% of patients in the Yervoy 10 mg/kg (n=503) arm. Treatment-related Grade 3/4 AEs were experienced by 37% and 57% of patients in the Yervoy 3mg/kg and 10 mg/kg arms, respectively. Treatment-related AEs led to discontinuation in 35% of patients taking Yervoy 3 mg/kg and 54% taking Yervoy 10 mg/kg. There were eight deaths in the Yervoy 10 mg/kg arm and two in the Yervoy 3 mg/kg arm that were considered at least possibly treatment-related. These data will be presented during an oral session today from 8:00 – 8:12 a.m. CT during the Melanoma/Skin Cancers session in the Arie Crown Theater at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting 2017.

“Adjuvant therapy with ipilimumab represents an important option for appropriate stage III melanoma patients following complete resection who have a significant risk of disease recurrence; however, management of adverse events is essential to help ensure that appropriate patients are able to benefit from treatment,” said Ahmad A. Tarhini, MD, PhD, University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute. “These data are important because they advance our understanding of the benefits and risks of ipilimumab in the adjuvant setting.”

“There is a need for safe and effective treatment options for melanoma patients after surgery who are at high-risk of relapse, only about half of whom receive treatment,” said Vicki Goodman, M.D., development lead, Melanoma and Genitourinary Cancers, Bristol-Myers Squibb. “This analysis provides valuable information that may help inform treatment decisions.”

E1609 is a Phase 3 study that enrolled 1,673 adult patients between May 2011 and August 2014 at multiple clinical sites, all belonging to the research groups in the NCI’s National Clinical Trials Network that design and lead trials focused on adult cancers: the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology, ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group, NRG Oncology, and SWOG. The study is comparing the effect of adjuvant Yervoy at either 3 mg/kg or 10 mg/kg versus high-dose interferon in adult patients with high-risk stage III or IV melanoma that has been removed by surgery. The study was not designed to compare the two Yervoy arms to each other. This analysis was performed to inform the effect of dose on efficacy and safety in the adjuvant setting. Co-primary endpoints of the study are overall survival and RFS comparing Yervoy versus high dose interferon a-2b. Secondary outcome measures include global quality of life and the safety profile of adjuvant Yervoy (10 mg/kg and 3 mg/kg) versus high-dose recombinant interferon a-2b. In this descriptive analysis, data was presented on the efficacy and safety of Yervoy 3 mg/kg and Yervoy 10 mg/kg at a median follow up of 3.1 years.