Bristol-Myers Squibb Canada is pleased to announce that Health Canada has approved Yervoy (ipilimumab) as a first-line therapy in adults with unresectable or metastatic melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer. This means that Canadians with newly diagnosed advanced melanoma, regardless of the subtype, will be eligible to receive the novel immunotherapy as their initial treatment.

When Yervoy was first approved by Health Canada in 2012, for the treatment of patients who had failed or did not tolerate other systemic therapy for advanced disease, it was the first and only treatment for advanced melanoma proven to extend survival in a phase 3 trial.

“Yervoy was the first immunotherapy treatment for metastatic melanoma introduced in Canada and it has transformed the way this deadly disease is currently managed. After decades with no new options, physicians suddenly not only had options but we were seeing long-term survival in some pretreated patients who were given Yervoy,” said Dr. Michael Smylie, an oncologist specializing in melanoma at the Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton.“Having Yervoy available now as an initial treatment will allow us to offer this potential benefit earlier in the disease course. This is good news for treating physicians and excellent news for our newly diagnosed patients.”

For more details, go to: http://www.bmscanada.ca/en/news/release/health-canada-approves-yervoy-ipilimumab-for-first-line-treatment-of-adults-with-metastatic-melanoma