BMS's Opdivo® Extends Its Immuno-Oncology Lead, In the United Kingdom, Over Keytruda®

Now the U.K.'s NICE need only finally decide the level of reimbursement for NSCLC treatments (not likely to be known until early 2016, officially) -- but as of this moment, BMS will be shipping in regular fashion (not early access/experimental fashion) throughout the UK. Lung cancer is a very high burden disease in England -- and Merck may not come off of experimental "early access" protocols (i.e., low- to no- sales price) there, until late 2015 or early 2016. Thus -- as we've long posited, the BMS lead is stretching to a year or more, in this perhaps $35 billion a year market, by 2018.

From PharmaTimes, then earlier this morning, a bit -- but do go read it all:

. . . .Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Opdivo has launched for lung cancer in the UK, becoming the first immunotherapy available for the disease in the country. The launch follows EU approval for the indication earlier this month. . . .

This may therefore be troubling news to BMS’ main PD-1 rival Merck, whose Keytruda is still only available in the UK for melanoma, and then only through the Early Access to Medicines scheme. . . .

Onward -- and I'm headed to the North Woods this weekend, so blogging may be skittish/interrupted. . .