US FDA approves injectable form of Bristol Myers' Opdivo (updated)

Halozyme Therapeutics

27/12/2024 16:38

(Adds details on the drug from paragraph 2-4)
       Dec 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration
said on Friday that it has approved an injectable version of
Bristol Myers Squibb's  BMY.N  blockbuster cancer drug, Opdivo.
        Opdivo is part of a class of drugs called PD-1
inhibitors, which enhance the immune system's ability to fight
cancer by removing its natural brakes.
  
        Like other PD-1 drugs such as Merck's  MRK.N  Keytruda,
it was previously available through infusions and patients
received it via an intravenous drip in a health office. 
  
        The new injectable form is expected to be more
convenient for patients and could help shield the company from
erosion of sales when the patent for the intravenous version
expires later this decade.
  

 (Reporting by Sneha S K and Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing
by Pooja Desai, Shreya Biswas and Tasim Zahid)
 ((Sneha.SK@thomsonreuters.com;))