Bristol-Myers, Five Prime to Collaborate on Immunotherapy

   By Tess Stynes 
 

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (BMY) and Five Prime Therapeutics Inc. (FPRX) agreed to collaborate on potential combinations of their investigational immunotherapies to treat six types of cancers.

Five Prime shares rose 14.3% to $18 in recent premarket trading.

Immunotherapy drugs work by unleashing the body's immune system to recognize and attack tumor cells. Studies have indicated the treatments show promise in a widening range of tumor types.

Under the deal, Bristol-Myers Squibb will pay $30 million to Five Prime upfront and is responsible for study costs. Five Prime will conduct the trial, expected to begin next year.

The Phase 1a/1b study will evaluate the combination of Bristol-Myers' Opdivo and Five Prime's FPA008 for patients with patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), melanoma, head and neck cancer, pancreatic cancer, colorectal cancer and malignant glioma.

Opdivo is approved in Japan for the treatment of patients with unresectable melanoma and is being developed for treatment of other types of cancer.

Bristol-Myers, Merck & Co. (MRK), Roche Holding AG (RHHBY, ROG.VX) and other pharmaceutical companies are racing to bring new immunotherapy drugs to what analysts predict will be a multibillion-dollar market. Bristol-Myers began selling one immunotherapy drug, Yervoy, for melanoma in 2011, and the drug generated $960 million in sales last year.

Write to Tess Stynes at [e-mail]

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