Ahead of the Bell: Bristol-Myers' melanoma drug

By The Associated Press

Shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. rose in Monday premarket trading after clinical data showed the drugmaker's experimental treatment ipilimumab helped patients live significantly longer in a major study of people with very advanced melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer.

The trial results, presented Saturday at the American Society of Clinical Oncology's annual conference in Chicago, are the first of any melanoma drug to show prolonged survival. Ipilimumab, (ip-ee-LIM-uh-mab), works by helping the immune system fight tumors. The Food and Drug Administration has pledged a quick review, and doctors think the drug could be available by the end of this year.

The drug, however, may face competition from other treatments in development including Roche's B-Raf because of safety challenges, Jefferies International Ltd. analyst wrote in a note to investors. Still, they said the drug could generate $1 billion in sales and has the potential to go higher.

Last year in the United States, there were about 68,720 new cases of melanoma and 8,650 deaths from the disease. Worldwide, more than 50,000 people die of melanoma each year.

The skin cancer study involved 676 people around the world with advanced, inoperable melanoma who had already tried other treatments. After two years, 24 percent of those given the drug alone or in combination were alive, compared with 14 percent of those given only an immune-stimulating treatment. Average survival was 10 months with ipilimumab versus just over six months for the others.

Doctors hope the drug can provide more benefit if given earlier in the course of the disease and to less sick patients.

The study was funded by Bristol-Myers and Medarex Inc., a company that co-developed the drug and was bought by Bristol-Myers last year.

Bristol-Myers shares rose $1.18, or 5.3 percent, to $23.62 in premarket trading.

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Online:

Cancer meeting: http://www.asco.org

National Cancer Institute: http://www.cancer.gov

New England Journal of Medicine: http://www.nejm.org