Relatlimab


Relatlimab is a monoclonal antibody designed for the treatment of melanoma. It is used in combination with nivolumab to treat melanoma.
Relatlimab is a Lymphocyte activation gene-3 inhibitor. It is under development by Bristol-Myers Squibb. It is made using Chinese hamster ovary cells.

History

In 2004, Drew Pardoll and colleagues discovered that the lymphocyte-activation gene 3, or LAG-3, was a new immune checkpoint. Checkpoints inhibitors are proteins that stop the immune system from responding to cancer cells. Checkpoint inhibitor drugs block these proteins, unleashing the immune system to battle the cancer.
As stated in the official John Hopkins Technological Ventures Press:
  • 2004: Drew Pardoll discovers that LAG-3 is a new immune checkpoint.
  • 2010: Pardoll and his research team begin a study to see how relatlimab, a LAG-3 blocking drug, treats cancer in mice.
  • 2012: Findings from the study are published showing that a combination of a LAG-3 blocker and PD-1 blocker is an effective cancer treatment.
  • 2016: The Join effort including Drew Pardoll, Shirley Liu, Cliff Meyer and Eduardo Gusmao has led to significant advances on the effectiveness as LAG-3 + PD-1 checkpoint blockade immunotherapy.
  • 2018: The RELATIVITY-047 trial begins enrolling patients and randomly assigning them to receive relatlimab with nivolumab or nivolumab alone.
  • January 2022: Results from the RELATIVITY-047 trial published in The New England Journal of Medicine show the combination treatment with relatlimab to be a more effective treatment than nivolumab alone.
  • March 2022: The FDA gives approval for the combination treatment as a new therapy for patients with metastatic or inoperable melanoma.
The combination nivolumab/relatlimab was approved for medical use in the United States in March 2022.

Names

Relatlimab is the United States Adopted Name and the international nonproprietary name.