CHICAGO – Adding an experimental immune-enhancing agent to a checkpoint inhibitor was safe and showed early promise of activity against advanced solid tumors in a phase I/IIa clinical trial.
BMS-986156 is a fully human immunoglobulin G1 agonist monoclonal antibody with high affinity binding for the glucorticoid-induced tumor necrosis factor receptor-related gene. The drug acts synergistically with the programmed-death 1 inhibitor (PD-1) nivolumab (Opdivo) by increasing survival of T effector cells, promoting regulatory T-cell depletion and reduction, and reducing regulatory T cell suppression of T effector cells to produce a more robust antitumor immune response.
In this video interview at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, Lillian Siu, MD, from the Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto, describes how the combination has induced durable partial responses in patients with tumors thought to be insensitive to immunotherapy, as well as patients who had disease progression while on a PD-1 inhibitor.