Opdivo: which tox species, and why?

“The nonclinical toxicity studies of nivolumab were performed in a battery of nonGLP studies, and GLP- and ICH-compliant in vitro tissue binding studies in multiple species and in vivo toxicology studies in cynomolgus monkeys.”

“Nivolumab bound to PD-1 from humans and cynomolgus monkeys to a similar extent and blocked the interaction of PD-1 with its ligands. Nivolumab did not bind to PD-1 from rodents or rabbits.”

“Because nivolumab was unable to bind to PD-1 from rodents, the Applicant developed a murine surrogate anti-PD-1 antibody to investigate the effects of PD-1 pathway inhibition on tumor growth.”