Dr Brahmer is a member of our science board and spoke at the 2014 LUNGevity HOPE Summit! Read more:

[CindyA]

Immune checkpoint inhibitors targeted against PD-1 and its ligand PD-L1 have rapidly advanced as treatments for patients with melanoma and non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), following their initial debut in 2012.

In the past 4 months alone, the PD-1 inhibitors nivolumab (Opdivo) and pembrolizumab (Keytruda) have each gained separate approvals as treatments for patients with advanced melanoma. Additionally, in mid-January, phase III findings from the CheckMate-017 study demonstrated that nivolumab extended overall survival compared with docetaxel in patients with pretreated squamous cell NSCLC.

Based on these findings and those from phase II studies, Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) is currently in the process of submitting a New Drug Application to the FDA for nivolumab as a third-line treatment for patients with squamous cell NSCLC. Furthermore, several phase III studies are currently examining the agent across a variety of tumor types.

Julie R. Brahmer, MD, and Suzanne L. Topalian, MD, presented seminal research on PD-1/PD-L1 inhibition at the 2012 ASCO Annual Meeting. Results from these studies laid the foundation for future advances and shaped the development of PD-1 inhibition in cancer.

In an interview, Brahmer, the interim director of the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, spoke with OncLive about the rapid development of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibition and her thoughts on the future of this novel treatment approach. -

 

See more at: http://www.onclive.com/web-exclusives/Brahmer-Expects-Rapid-Approval-for-First-PD-1-Inhibitor-in-Lung-Cancer?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter#sthash.Z9AdLFqa.whBiAwDH.dpuf