You’ve probably seen the advertisements for “nivolumab” (trademark name “Opdivo”). It is a Bristol-Myers Squibb drug treatment for non-small cell lung cancer. The clinical trials compared a nivolumab group to a conventional chemotherapy group and found those taking the drug group lived an average of 90 days longer. The drug costs about $150,000 for the initial treatment, and then about $14,000 a month (some medical insurance will not cover the cost). Over half the patients taking the drug experience severe side effects – some are so severe the patients stopped taking the drug. Certainly, this is a new tool in fighting lung cancer but far from the needed cure or even management cocktail. The drug cost is just unreal!
John Mallon