This approval marks a significant milestone, establishing the Opdivo plus AVD combination as the first immunotherapy-based regimen available in the European Union (EU) for newly diagnosed advanced cHL..
This new EC approval reinforces the expanding impact of Opdivo in cHL, building upon the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of Opdivo in combination with AVD for previously untreated Stage III or IV cHL in adults and pediatric patients 12 years and older, granted in March 2026.2 Earlier this year, the EC also approved Opdivo in combination with brentuximab vedotin for the treatment of children 5 years of age and older, adolescents, and adults up to 30 years of age with relapsed or refractory cHL after one prior line of therapy.1
“Today’s approval of Opdivo in combination with AVD for previously untreated advanced classical Hodgkin Lymphoma marks an important advancement for patients in the European Union,1” said Monica Shaw, MD, senior vice president of Oncology Commercialization, Bristol Myers Squibb. “For decades, patients newly diagnosed with this aggressive blood cancer have faced intensive treatment approaches.3,4 This approval underscores the benefit and critical role of immunotherapy-based approaches in hematologic cancers like cHL and reflects our continued commitment to bringing these innovative options to patients earlier in their treatment journey across cancer types.”
The EC approval is based on data from the Phase 3 SWOG 1826 (Study CA2098UT) which demonstrated a 58% reduction in the risk of disease progression or death with Opdivo in combination with AVD versus brentuximab vedotin plus AVD, as determined per investigator (Hazard Ratio [HR] 0.42; 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 0.27-0.67; P=<0.0001).The trial demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in the primary endpoint of progression-free survival (PFS), based on a median follow-up of 13.7 months in the intent to treat population. After a median follow-up of 36.7 months, the median overall survival (OS) had not been reached in either treatment arm with a total of 26 deaths: 9 (1.8%) deaths in the Opdivo in combination with AVD arm and 17 (3.4%) deaths in the standard of care over brentuximab vedotin plus AVD arm.5
“For patients with newly diagnosed Stage III or IV classical Hodgkin Lymphoma, finding an effective and tolerable first-line treatment remains crucial to achieving long-term remission, especially for adolescents and the elderly,” said Franck Morschhauser, MD, PhD, Professor of Hematology at the University of Lille and Hospital Claude Huriez. “The SWOG 1826 study provided compelling data demonstrating that nivolumab-based combination therapy significantly improved progression-free survival compared with the standard of care. The availability of the first-ever IO combination in this earlier setting and across a broad spectrum of ages offers a potentially practice-changing approach to the treatment of frontline cHL.”
This approval by the EC for Opdivo plus AVD for the treatment of adult and adolescent patients 12 years of age and older with previously untreated Stage III or IV cHL is valid in all 27 member states of the EU, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. In addition to this approval in cHL, Opdivo-based options are also approved for treatment of multiple tumor types in the EU.
Bristol Myers Squibb thanks the SWOG Cancer Research Network and its investigators for leading the Phase 3 SWOG 1826 (CA2098UT) trial and the patients for their important contributions to this study.
About SWOG 1826 (CA2098UT)
SWOG 1826, also known as CA2098UT, is a randomized, multicenter, Phase 3 study evaluating Opdivo® (nivolumab) in combination with doxorubicin, vinblastine and dacarbazine (AVD) for adult and pediatric (12 years and older) patients with previously untreated Stage III or IV classical Hodgkin Lymphoma (cHL).
The study is designed to assess progression-free survival as the primary endpoint, with key secondary endpoints that include overall survival and other measures of efficacy and safety.3 The SWOG 1826 study is sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with Bristol Myers Squibb and conducted in the NCI National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN) led by the SWOG Cancer Research Network in collaboration with the Children’s Oncology Group (COG).3 It is the largest cHL study conducted in the NCTN.3 Bristol Myers Squibb co-sponsored the study and supplied Opdivo to the NCI through a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement.3
Serious adverse reactions occurred in 39% of patients receiving Opdivo in combination with doxorubicin, vinblastine and dacarbazine (AVD) (n=490). The most frequent serious adverse reactions reported in ≥5% patients who received Opdivo in combination with AVD were neutropenia (7%), pyrexia (7%), febrile neutropenia (6%), and nausea (6%). Fatal adverse reactions occurred in 3 patients (0.6%), all from sepsis. The most common adverse reactions were nausea (70%), neutropenia (61%), fatigue (59%), anemia (51%), constipation (49%), leukopenia (44%), musculoskeletal pain (42%), transaminases increase (41%), peripheral neuropathy (41%), vomiting (33%), and stomatitis (30%).
About Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma
Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), also known as Hodgkin disease, is a cancer that starts in white blood cells called lymphocytes, which are part of the body’s immune system.6 HL is the most common cancer diagnosed in adolescents (ages 15-19).7 It is most often diagnosed in early adulthood (ages 20-39) and late adulthood (older than 55 years of age).8 Classical Hodgkin lymphoma is the most common type of HL, accounting for 95% of cases.9 Despite progress in frontline therapy, advanced-stage HL still carries a substantial risk of relapse, highlighting the need for innovative approaches that deliver durable remission for patients.8
About Opdivo
Opdivo is a programmed death-1 (PD-1) immune checkpoint inhibitor that is designed to uniquely harness the body’s own immune system to help restore anti-tumor immune response. By harnessing the body’s own immune system to fight cancer, Opdivo has become an important treatment option across multiple cancers.
Opdivo’s leading global development program is based on Bristol Myers Squibb’s scientific expertise in the field of Immuno-Oncology and includes a broad range of clinical trials across all phases, including Phase 3, in a variety of tumor types. To date, the Opdivo clinical development program has treated more than 35,000 patients.
The Opdivo trials have contributed to gaining a deeper understanding of the potential role of biomarkers in patient care, particularly regarding how patients may benefit from Opdivo across the continuum of PD-L1 expression.
Surgery Related Adverse Reactions
In Checkmate 77T, 5.3% (n=12) of the OPDIVO-treated patients who received neoadjuvant treatment, did not receive surgery due to adverse reactions. The adverse reactions that led to cancellation of surgery in OPDIVO-treated patients were cerebrovascular accident, pneumonia, and colitis/diarrhea (2 patients each) and acute coronary syndrome, myocarditis, hemoptysis, pneumonitis, COVID-19, and myositis (1 patient each).
About Bristol Myers Squibb’s Patient Access Support
Bristol Myers Squibb remains committed to providing assistance so that cancer patients who need our medicines can access them and expedite time to therapy.BMS Access Support®, the Bristol Myers Squibb patient access and reimbursement program, is designed to help appropriate patients initiate and maintain access to BMS medicines during their treatment journey. BMS Access Support offers benefit investigation, prior authorization assistance, as well as co-pay assistance for eligible, commercially insured patients. About the Bristol Myers Squibb and Ono Pharmaceutical Collaboration In 2011, through a collaboration agreement with Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Bristol Myers Squibb expanded its territorial rights to develop and commercialize Opdivo globally, except in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, where Ono had retained all rights to the compound at the time. On July 23, 2014, Ono and Bristol Myers Squibb further expanded the companies’ strategic collaboration agreement to jointly develop and commercialize multiple immunotherapies – as single agents and combination regimens – for patients with cancer in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.
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