The failed skin cancer trial that crushed Incyte and Merck on Friday could be cause for alarm over at Bristol-Myers Squibb, which is running a nearly identical study with two drugs of its own that work the same way.
Like Incyte (INCY) and Merck (MRK), Bristol-Myers (BMY) is testing a two-drug combination that pairs a blockbuster immunotherapy with an unapproved pill that might make the older drug more effective. For Bristol-Myers, that pill is called BMS-986205, and it works by targeting an enzyme called IDO, which plays a role in helping tumors evade the immune system’s detection.
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