The FDA has approved tislelizumab (Tevimbra – BeiGene), a programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1) blocking antibody, for treatment of unresectable or metastatic esophageal squamous cell cancer in adults who received prior systemic chemotherapy that did not include a programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) inhibitor.

Lifileucel (Amtagvi – Iovance), a tumor-derived autologous T-cell immunotherapy, has received accelerated approval from the FDA for one-time treatment of adults with unresectable or metastatic melanoma previously treated with a programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1) inhibitor, and if BRAF V600 mutation-positive, a BRAF inhibitor with or without a mitogen-activated kinase (MEK) inhibitor. It is the first cellular therapy to be approved for use in solid tumors. Accelerated approval of lifileucel was based on objective response rates.

Opdualag (BMS), a fixed-dose combination of two immune checkpoint inhibitors — nivolumab (Opdivo), a programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1) inhibitor, and relatlimab-rmbw, a lymphocyte-activation gene-3 (LAG-3) blocking antibody — has been approved by the FDA for treatment of unresectable or metastatic melanoma in patients ≥12 years old. Relatlimab, which is only available in combination with nivolumab, is the first LAG-3 blocking antibody to become available in the US. Immune checkpoint inhibitors, including the anti-CTLA-4 antibody ipilimumab (Yervoy) and the PD-1 inhibitors nivolumab and pembrolizumab (Keytruda), have been available for several years for treatment of melanoma.

The FDA has approved avelumab (Bavencio – EMD Serono) and durvalumab (Imfinzi – AstraZeneca), two new immune check point inhibitors, and pembrolizumab (Keytruda – Merck), a checkpoint inhibitor that has been available in the US since 2014, for treatment of locally advanced or metastatic bladder cancer. Nivolumab (Opdivo) and atezolizumab (Tecentriq) were approved earlier for this indication.

The FDA has approved the fully-human programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) blocking antibody avelumab (Bavencio – EMD Serono/Pfizer) for treatment of metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) in patients ≥12 years old. Avelumab is the first drug to be approved in the US for this rare skin cancer. About 1600 people in the US, most commonly older adults (mean age at presentation is 75 years), are diagnosed each year with MCC. Most of these patients can be treated with surgical resection, but ~50% will have a recurrence and >30% will eventually have metastatic disease. Median progression-free survival in patients with metastatic disease has been about 3 months with chemotherapy. MCC tumors, which often express PD-L1, have been treated offlabel with the PD-1 inhibitors pembrolizumab (Keytruda)1 and nivolumab (Opdivo).2

In an ongoing single-arm trial (JAVELIN Merkel 200), 88 patients with metastatic MCC (58 with PD-L1 positive tumors, 16 PD-L1 negative, 14 not assessable) who were previously treated with at least one chemotherapy regimen received at least one dose of avelumab; 75% of patients were 65 years or older. An objective response occurred in 28 patients (32%); 8 patients had a complete response. Tumor PD-L1 expression did not affect response rates. The duration of response was ≥6 months in 92% of responders.3

The most common adverse effects of avelumab in clinical trials were fatigue (50%), musculoskeletal pain (32%), diarrhea (23%), nausea (22%), rash (22%), and infusion-site reactions (22%). Serious treatment-related adverse events occurred in 6% of patients. Grade 3 or 4 adverse events (lymphopenia, elevation of creatine kinase, transaminase increases) occurred in 5% of patients. As with PD-1 inhibitors, immune-mediated adverse effects including pneumonitis, colitis, nephritis, hepatitis, and endocrinopathies (hypothyroidism, adrenal insufficiency, type 1 diabetes) can occur.

The recommended dosage of Bavencio is 10 mg/kg infused IV over 60 minutes every 2 weeks. The cost of one 10-mL vial containing 200 mg of the drug is $1504; three months' treatment for a 60-kg patient would cost $27,072.4

1. PT Nghiem et al. PD-1 blockade with pembrolizumab in advanced Merkel-cell carcinoma. N Engl J Med 2016; 374:2542.
2. K Mantripragada and A Birnbaum. Response to anti-PD-1 therapy in metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma metastatic to the heart and pancreas. Cureus 2015; 7:e403.
3. HL Kaufman et al. Avelumab in patients with chemotherapy-refractory metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma: a multicentre, single-group, open-label, phase 2 trial. Lancet Oncol 2016; 17:1374.
4. Approximate WAC. WAC = wholesaler acquisition cost or manufacturer's published price to wholesalers; WAC represents a published catalogue or list price and may not represent an actual transactional price. Source: AnalySource® Monthly. June 5, 2017. Reprinted with permission by First Databank, Inc. All rights reserved. ©2017. www.fdbhealth.com/policies/drug-pricing-policy.

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The FDA has approved the immune checkpoint inhibitor atezolizumab (Tecentriq – Genentech) for treatment of locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma and metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that have progressed during or following platinum-based chemotherapy. Atezolizumab is the first programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) blocking antibody to become available in the US. Two other immune checkpoint inhibitors, the programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1) inhibitors nivolumab (Opdivo) and pembrolizumab (Keytruda), are also approved for treatment of metastatic NSCLC, and nivolumab is also approved for second-line treatment of locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma.

The FDA has approved the immune checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab (Keytruda – Merck), a programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1) inhibitor, for first-line treatment of patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that highly expresses programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) and has no epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations or anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) translocations. About 25% of patients with advanced NSCLC have tumors with high levels of PD-L1 expression (PD-L1 expressed on ≥50% of tumor cells). Pembrolizumab was approved earlier for treatment of metastatic NSCLC with PD-L1 expression ≥1% that progressed on or after platinum-based chemotherapy.

The FDA has approved the mitogen-activated extracellular signal-regulated kinase (MEK) inhibitor cobimetinib (Cotellic – Genentech) for use in combination with the BRAF kinase inhibitor vemurafenib (Zelboraf) for treatment of unresectable or metastatic melanoma with a BRAF V600E or V600K mutation.

The FDA has approved the combined use of the programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1) blocking antibody nivolumab (Opdivo) and the anti-CLA-4 antibody ipilimumab (Yervoy) for treatment of BRAF V600 wild-type unresectable or metastatic melanoma. This is the first immunotherapy combination to be approved for treatment of any type of cancer.

After our article on nivolumab (Opdivo – BMS) for treatment of metastatic melanoma and metastatic squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) was published in the most recent issue of The Medical Letter (June 8, 2015),1 some new data became available supporting the efficacy of the drug in previously untreated melanoma and previously treated nonsquamous NSCLC.

MELANOMA – In a double-blind trial, 945 patients with previously untreated, unresectable stage III or IV melanoma were randomized to receive ipilimumab, nivolumab, or combination therapy with ipilimumab and nivolumab. Progression-free survival, a primary endpoint, improved by 43% with nivolumab (median 6.9 months) and by 58% with combination therapy (median 11.5 months), compared to ipilimumab (median 2.9 months). In patients with tumors that expressed the programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) on ≥5% of cells, median progression-free survival was similar in the nivolumab and combination groups (both 14.0 months); in those with tumors that expressed PD-L1 on <5% of cells, it was 5.3 months with nivolumab alone and 11.2 months with both drugs. Rates of complete or partial response were 19.0% with ipilimumab, 43.7% with nivolumab, and 57.6% with combination therapy. At least one severe (grade 3-4) drug-related adverse effect occurred in 27.3% of patients receiving ipilimumab, 16.3% of those receiving nivolumab, and 55.0% of those receiving both drugs.2

NONSQUAMOUS NSCLC – In an open-label trial (available only as an abstract), 582 patients with advanced nonsquamous NSCLC that had progressed during or after treatment with a platinum doublet-based regimen (and, if appropriate, a kinase inhibitor) were randomized to receive nivolumab or docetaxel until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity occurred. Nivolumab significantly improved overall survival, the primary endpoint, by 27% compared to docetaxel (median 12.2 vs 9.4 months). Survival rates in the two groups were similar in patients with tumors expressing PD-L1 on <1% of cells, but in patients with tumors expressing PD-L1 on ≥1%, ≥5%, and ≥10% of cells, nivolumab improved overall survival by 41%, 57%, and 60%, respectively, compared to docetaxel. Patients receiving nivolumab were significantly more likely to have an objective response (19.2% vs 12.4%). Severe (grade 3+) drug-related adverse effects occurred in 10.5% of patients receiving nivolumab and in 53.7% of those receiving docetaxel.3

1. Nivolumab (Opdivo) for metastatic melanoma and metastatic NSCLC. Med Lett Drugs Ther 2015; 57:85.
2. J Larkin et al. Combined nivolumab and ipilimumab or monotherapy in untreated melanoma. N Engl J Med 2015 May 31 (epub).
3. L Paz-Ares et al. Phase III, randomized trial (CheckMate 057) of nivolumab (NIVO) versus docetaxel (DOC) in advanced non-squamous cell (non-SQ) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). J Clin Oncol 2015; 33 (suppl; abstr LBA109). Available at: abstracts.asco.org. Accessed June 11, 2015.

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The FDA has approved nivolumab (Opdivo – BMS), an IV programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1) blocking antibody, for treatment of unresectable or metastatic melanoma that has progressed following treatment with ipilimumab (and a BRAF inhibitor in patients who are BRAF V600 mutation positive) and for treatment of metastatic squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that has progressed on or after platinum-based chemotherapy. It is the second PD-1 inhibitor to be marketed in the US after pembrolizumab (Keytruda), and the first to be approved for treatment of NSCLC.