Nivolumab and Pembrolizumab: Monoclonal Antibodies Against Programmed Cell Death-1 (PD-1) that are Interchangeable

Nivolumab (Opdivo ®, Bristol Meyer Squibb) and pembrolizumab (Keytruda®, Merck) are the first two FDA approved monoclonal antibodies targeting programmed death-1 (PD-1). Nivolumab and pembrolizumab work by interfering with the interaction between (PD-1) and programmed death-ligand-1 (PD-L1), whose unimpeded interac tion downregulates T-cells allowing cancer cells to evade immune surveillance.1-3 [Figure 1] These drugs have earned a series of US Food and Drug Administration US FDA) approvals for melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC), urothelial cancer, classica l Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and renal cell cancer.

Source: Seminars in Oncology - July 13, 2017 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Vinay Prasad, Victoria Kaestner Source Type: research