Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) has launched Opdivo (nivolumab) in the UK as monotherapy for adult patients suffering from advanced (unresectable or metastatic) melanoma.

Nivolumab is an investigational, fully human PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor that binds to the checkpoint receptor PD-1 expressed on activated T-cells.

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Said to be the first PD-1 inhibitor in any cancer to be licensed in the EU, Opdivo has been shown to significantly improve survival outcomes in melanoma, and in some patients, providing durable response.

"The UK launch of nivolumab is a major milestone for the treatment of advanced melanoma and provides us with a new, effective option to help fight this cancer."

South West Wales Cancer Institute and Swansea College of Medicine consultant oncologist professor John Wagstaff said: "The UK launch of nivolumab is a major milestone for the treatment of advanced melanoma and provides us with a new, effective option to help fight this cancer.

"Immunotherapies such as nivolumab are becoming a core part of our treatment armoury and we are seeing more and more patients with significant survival improvement using these medicines. What is particularly encouraging is that, in some patients, this survival can extend to months or even years. Our hope for the future is to make this the case for more people as this field progresses."

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A positive scientific opinion for nivolumab was adopted by the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in May this year, under the Early Access to Medicines Scheme (EAMS).

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Following this licence by the European Commission, the scheme will now be required to stop for nivolumab.

In 2012, around 14,450 people in the UK were diagnosed with melanoma, and nearly 2,100 people died due to this disease.

In the UK, more than two young adults aged between 15 and 34 years are diagnosed each day with malignant melanoma.

According to BMS, the incidence of melanoma across the UK has increased at an alarming rate than any of the current top ten most common cancers over the last 30 years.