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24 Aug 2011

Skin Cancer Drug Yervoy Awarded European Licence

Yervoy, the first advanced skin cancer drug since the 1970s, has been awarded a European licence.

Yervoy (ipilimumab), the first advanced skin cancer drug since the 1970s, has been awarded a European licence and is now available to patients in the UK via the Cancer Drugs Fund.

 

The drug, developed by New York-based Bristol Myers Squibb, can be taken by adults with advanced melanoma, who have not received another therapy, and is shown to almost double the one-year survival rates. Ipilimumab works by stimulating the body's own immune system to fight cancer.

 

A Phase III clinical trial showed that 46% of participants treated with the drug were alive one year after diagnosis, compared with 25% receiving other treatment. In addition, 24% of patients were alive two years after being told their cancer was terminal, compared with 14% receiving ch

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