In the lawsuit, Bristol Myers claimed that it has invented the methods for enhancing immune responses and has demanded an undisclosed amount in monetary damages
Bristol-Myers Squibb facility in Wirral, England. (Credit: Rept0n1x/Wikipedia)
Bristol Myers Squibb has filed a lawsuit against AstraZeneca claiming that the latter’s cancer treatment Imfinzi violates the patents related to its cancer drug Opdivo.
Opdivo (nivolumab) is a human immunoglobulin G4 (IgG4) monoclonal antibody, used in the treatment of various types of cancers, including melanoma, lung, bladder and kidney cancer.
The drug works by identifying and binding to the programmed death-1 receptor (PD-1) receptors on the immune cells, empowering the immune system to attack cancer.
Imfinzi (duralumab) is also a human monoclonal antibody that works in a similar mechanism by blocking the activity of PD-L1, to counter the inhibition of immune responses.
In its lawsuit filed with the Delaware federal court, Bristol Myers claimed that it has invented the methods for enhancing immune responses, citing several patents.
The US drugmaker has generated more than $7.5bn from global sales of Opdivo, and AstraZeneca more than $2.4bn from Imfinzi sales last year, reported Reuters.
Bristol Myers has demanded an undisclosed sum from AstraZeneca, in monetary damages, said the publication.
A subsidiary of Bristol Myers previously won $1.2bn from a Gilead Sciences unit whose lymphoma drug Yescarta was found to infringe one of its patents, said Reuters.
In a separate development, Bristol Myers has secured the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for Opdualag (nivolumab and relatlimab-rmbw) to treat a type of melanoma.
Opdualag is a new fixed-dose combination of nivolumab and relatlimab, administered as a single intravenous infusion.
The drug was indicated for the treatment of unresectable or metastatic melanoma in adults and children, aged 12 years and above.
Bristol Myers said that the FDA approval was supported by the results from the Phase 2/3 RELATIVITY-047 trial, which compared Opdualag to nivolumab alone.
The Phase 3 study has met its primary endpoint of progression-free survival (PFS), where Opdualag has more than doubled the median PFS compared to nivolumab monotherapy.
The drug showed a safety profile that was similar to that previously reported for nivolumab, with no new safety events identified, compared to nivolumab alone.