Nivolumab Receives U.S. FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation for Hodgkin Lymphoma

Yesterday, investigators announced the U.S. FDA  “Breakthrough Therapy Designation” approval for the investigational PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor nivolumab in the treatment of patients with Hodgkin lymphoma after failure of autologous stem cell transplant and brentuximab. The FDA designation was created to expedite the development process of drugs aimed at treating serious and life-threatening conditions. These new  findings for nivolumab are based on an ongoing Phase 1b trial. Nivolumab also known as BMS-936558 or MDX1106 is an,

“…investigational, fully-human PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor that binds to the checkpoint receptor PD-1 (programmed death-1) expressed on activated T-cells. We are investigating whether by blocking this pathway, nivolumab would enable the immune system to resume its ability to recognize, attack and destroy cancer cells.”

Look to this blog and our clinical trials page for further developments regarding the use of nivolumab in the treatment of Hodgkin lymphoma.

Author: lymphomaprogram

Located on the Upper East Side of New York City, the Lymphoma Program at Weill Cornell Medical College/NewYork Presbyterian Hospital is internationally recognized for our efforts to enable patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Hodgkin disease and related disorders to have the best possible clinical outcome, including cure when possible. View all posts by lymphomaprogram