Ann: TACTI-002 & INSIGHT-004 data to be presented at ASCO, page-188

Headline from Fierce Biotech yesterday :-

ASCO: Bristol Myers, leading the LAG-3 pack, posts phase 3 melanoma data for Opdivo-boosting relatlimab

Quote from BMS chief medical officer and senior VP oncology:-

“The data speak very loudly for themselves that single-agent PD-1 is probably a suboptimal therapy now that we have shown for the second time that I-O plus I-O is better than I-O alone,” he said.
So, where does BMS see the new combination in the spectrum of melanoma treatment? “Currently, patients with melanoma in the first line setting are divided into thirds: one-third gets I-O plus I-O... One-third gets single-agent I-O and one-third is without an I-O-based regimen,” Hirawat said.
“So, one could say 66% of patients are undertreated to an extent because they’re not getting the best treatment available.”
The hope is that adding relatlimab to Opdivo could give doctors another option to get the PD-1 blocker to work in more people. The LAG-3 protein is an immune checkpoint receptor found on the surface of T cells. In cancer, LAG-3 expression is linked to T-cell exhaustion, which helps tumors resist PD-1 blockade. Blocking LAG-3 as well as PD-1 could reinvigorate tired T cells, allow them to regain their cell-killing function and attack cancer.
“We look forward to discussing these registrational data with health authorities to potentially bring this treatment to patients,” said Jonathan Cheng, M.D., senior vice president and head of oncology development at BMS, in a statement.
If all goes well with its studies in other cancer types, such as non-small cell lung cancer and liver cancer, BMS aims to launch additional phase 3 studies of relatlimab and Opdivo in those indications toward the end of this year and early next year, Hirawat said.