Nektar Therapeutics Inc and Bristol Myers Squibb Co have stopped the global programme for a jointly developed cancer therapy following the failure of two clinical trials. The therapy combined bempegaldesleukin, an experimental interleukin-2 cytokine prodrug, with the checkpoint inhibitor Opdivo (nivolumab). A Phase 3 trial of the combination therapy in patients with previously untreated, metastatic renal cell carcinoma failed to reach statistical significance on the measure of objective response rate, according to the trial’s independent data monitoring committee.
