BMS, Apexigen team up to test combination of their cancer drugs

Bristol-Myers Squibb and Apexigen, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing antibody-based therapeutics for the treatment of cancer, have started a clinical trial collaboration to evaluate Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Opdivo (nivolumab) in combination with Apexigen’s APX005M in patients with advanced solid tumors.

APX005M is an investigational compound that is designed to activate CD40, a key immune co-stimulatory receptor essential to regulating the activation of both innate and adaptive immune responses against cancer.

The companies will explore the potential of combining these two agents with the goal of effectively activating antigen presenting cells (APC) in the tumor microenvironment, thus driving a more productive and sustained immune response against the tumor.

The company said that preclinical data suggest that APX005M mimics the endogenous immune activation process through activation of CD40. A receptor on the surface of antigen presenting cells of the immune system, CD40 plays a fundamental role in the activation of both innate and adaptive immune system mechanisms. Opdivo is designed to overcome PD-1 pathway related immune suppression.