U.S. Clinician and Payer Receptivity to Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Oncology | Physician & Payer Forum | US | 2015
Ushering in a New Era of Cancer Immunotherapies in NSCLC, Malignant Melanoma, Renal Cell Carcinoma, and SCCHN The field of cancer immunotherapy has witnessed considerable advances over the past few years, notably with the advent of immune checkpoint inhibitors. Three immune checkpoint inhibitors—Yervoy (ipilimumab), Keytruda (pembrolizumab), and Opdivo (nivolumab)—are approved for malignant melanoma, and Opdivo became the first anti-programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) agent and immunotherapy to gain approval for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in early 2015. Current immune checkpoint inhibitors have the potential to gain approvals for additional oncology indications. In addition, several drug developers are positioned in the race to bring new immune checkpoint inhibitors to the market, and there is considerable excitement about the potential of combinatorial approaches involving immune checkpoint inhibitors. In the context of rising oncology drug costs, devising a smart pricing strategy will be crucial to ensure market access, secure reimbursement, maximize uptake, and realize commercial potential.