Bristol Myers Squibb and Tempus enter into collaboration for AI approaches

 

Tempus, a prominent player in the realm of artificial intelligence and precision medicine, has unveiled a strategic and multi-year research collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb. 

Together, these two entities are set to embark on a journey aimed at identifying and validating new targets swiftly and with heightened confidence. This process will leverage multimodal datasets, computational methodologies, and patient-derived disease models, particularly in the realm of specific cancer disease areas.

The collaborative efforts of the Tempus and Bristol Myers Squibb teams will initially be concentrated on the crucial task of pinpointing fresh drug targets.

The primary objective is to broaden the spectrum of options for patients who lack effective therapies or have become refractory to existing treatments. This joint endeavor will unfold in a highly collaborative manner, with both teams delving into Tempus' expansive multimodal database to analyze disease cohorts. 

Employing systems biology approaches, they aim to unearth novel targets that can be rapidly and iteratively tested using Tempus' repository of patient-derived organoids.

Tempus, recognized as a technology powerhouse, is at the forefront of advancing precision medicine through the practical application of artificial intelligence in the healthcare domain. 

Boasting one of the world's largest libraries of multimodal data and an operating system that renders this data accessible and practical, Tempus delivers AI-enabled precision medicine solutions to physicians. This not only facilitates personalized patient care but also catalyzes the discovery, development, and delivery of optimal therapeutics.

The overarching goal is to ensure that each patient reaps the benefits of treatments informed by the experiences of those who came before them. 

Tempus achieves this by furnishing physicians with tools that evolve and learn as the company accumulates more data, thereby contributing to a continuous cycle of improvement and innovation in healthcare.

Bristol Myers Squibb Receives European Commission Approval for Breyanzi (lisocabtagene maraleucel) for Relapsed or Refractory Large B-cell Lymphoma After One Prior Therapy

Bristol Myers Squibb has received approval from the European Commission for Breyanzi (lisocabtagene maraleucel; liso-cel), a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy directed towards CD19, for the treatment of adult patients suffering from diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), high grade B-cell lymphoma (HGBCL), primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL), and follicular lymphoma grade 3B (FL3B). The treatment is intended for patients who have relapsed within 12 months of completion of, or have shown refractory response to, first-line chemoimmunotherapy.

Approval of Breyanzi was granted after the positive results obtained from the Phase 3 TRANSFORM trial, where the therapy exhibited significant and clinically relevant advancements in the primary endpoint of event-free survival (EFS), and in key secondary endpoints such as complete responses (CR) and progression-free survival (PFS) when compared to standard treatment (which involves salvage immunochemotherapy followed by high-dose chemotherapy and hematopoietic stem cell transplant [HSCT]).  The treatment demonstrated a manageable and well-established safety profile.

In the TRANSFORM study, Breyanzi more than quadrupled median EFS compared to standard therapy (10.1 months vs. 2.3 months) at the time of prespecified interim analysis with a median follow-up of 6.2 months. Results of the primary analysis, with a median follow-up of 17.5 months were consistent with the interim analysis, with median EFS not reached for Breyanzi (95% CI: 9.5-NR) vs. 2.4 months for standard therapy (95% CI: 2.2-4.9).

With Breyanzi, the majority (73.9%) of patients achieved a CR compared to less than half (43.5%) of those who were treated with standard therapy. Median PFS was not reached (95% CI: 12.6-NR) with Breyanzi vs. 6.2 months (95% CI: 4.3-8.6) with standard therapy

The safety profile of Breyanzi is well-established, and in the TRANSFORM study, occurrences of cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and neurologic events were generally low-grade, and mostly resolved quickly with standard protocols and without the use of prophylactic steroids.

Bristol Myers Squibb Announces CheckMate -76K Trial Results of Opdivo (nivolumab) for Adjuvant Treatment in Stage IIB/C Melanoma

Bristol Myers Squibb ($BMY) have announced that the Phase 3 CheckMate -76K trial evaluating Opdivo (nivolumab) as a single agent in the adjuvant setting in patients with completely resected stage IIB/C melanoma met its primary endpoint and demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful benefit in recurrence-free survival (RFS) versus placebo at a pre-specified interim analysis. No new safety signals were observed at the time of the analysis.

CheckMate -76K is part of BMS’ development program studying Opdivo and Opdivo-based combinations in earlier stages of cancer, which currently spans seven tumor types.

CheckMate -76K is a randomized Phase 3, double-blind study evaluating adjuvant Opdivo (nivolumab) 480 mg Q4W for up to 12 months versus placebo in patients with completely resected stage IIB/C melanoma.

The primary endpoint of the trial is recurrence-free survival (RFS). Secondary endpoints of the trial include overall survival (OS), distant metastases-free survival (DMFS), progression-free survival on next-line therapy (PFS2), and safety endpoints.

Bristol-Myers Squibb – On a balancing act?

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMS), is making its final move in the Amylin acquisition by announcing the closure of the headquarters facility at La Jolla, California. The work being done here will be moved to other BMS sites and the site closure is expected to be complete by Q1 2015.

On the other hand, BMS made a recent announcement regarding two new manufacturing facilities at Devens, Massachusetts. These two facilities are expected to be completed in 2015 and one of these is dedicated to a group that designs processes for early production of investigational biologics medicines.

With several Biologics/BioPharmaceuticals in the early stage pipeline, the move by BMS does make sense and show that the company is preparing to march into a brighter future.

BMS and FICCI organised round table conference to tackle chronic diseases

Bristol-Myers Squibb India (BMSI), in association with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), organised a roundtable conference on ‘Developing Capacities to Tackle Chronic Diseases’ in New Delhi on November 14, on the occasion of World Diabetes Day. The conference was supported by India Health Progress (IHP), an initiative aligned at ensuring healthcare access to all. The event was aimed at creating awareness about the prevalence of acute and chronic diseases, and the dire and immediate need to spread prevention awareness about these diseases.

BMSI is a subsidiary of Bristol-Myers Squibb— a global biopharmaceutical company headquartered in New York city. Adhering to its mission to discover, develop and deliver innovative medicines that help patients prevail over serious diseases, the company addresses unmet medical need in various chronic diseases areas such as diabetes, cancer and hepatitis.

Attended by key stakeholders from the health ministry, as well as experts from the healthcare and insurance industries, the conference offered a unique opportunity for discussions on improving healthcare access across the country through formulation of relevant policies by government. The conference deliberated on exploring options to formulate special insurance policies for chronic diseases such as diabetes and ways to highlight the magnitude of diabetes as a chronic disease in India. In addition, the discussions clearly brought out the important role that will have to be essayed by insurance providers in terms of making drugs more affordable and accessible for patients. Other key aspects discussed included improving affordability of medicines through policies that help in cost reduction for management of chronic diseases, linking health insurance for promoting prevention of chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular, etc., and proposing a course for taking this initiative forward by formation of a forum or advisory group for recommending strategies for tackling chronic diseases.

Some of the key speakers included Dr Nandakumar Jairam, co-chairman, FICCI Health Services Committee; Pheroze Khan, managing director, BMSI; Aman Gupta, principal advisor, IHP; Keshav Desiraju, additional secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare; Arvind Kumar, joint secretary, Department of Banking and Insurance, Ministry of Finance; Dr Ashok Kumar Walia, Minister, Health & Revenue, Government of NCT of Delhi; Krishnan Ramachandran chief operating officer, Apollo Munich Health Insurance ; Dr Somil Nagpal, health specialist, World Bank; and, Dr Anoop Mishra, director and head, Department of Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases, Fortis Group of Hospitals.

Welcoming attendees and speakers, Khan, set the tone of the conference with his opening remarks: “The rise in chronic diseases in the country poses a threat to both public health and the economy. Not only do chronic diseases pose an economic burden on society but also contribute to an ever-increasing number of deaths. Therefore, it is imperative that we review and implement the health actions we know will reduce death from chronic diseases.”