On May 15, 2020, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the combination of Opdivo (nivolumab) and Yervoy (ipilimumab) for treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with a PD-L1 level equal to or greater than 1% for patients that do not have EGFR or ALK mutations. The FDA based their approval on the results of the clinical trial CHECKMATE-227 which showed that patient receiving the combination of Opdivo (nivolumab) and Yervoy (ipilimumab) lived longer, were more likely to respond to treatment, and that the response lasted longer than patients receiving chemotherapy.

The approval of Opdivo (nivolumab) and Yervoy (ipilimumab) marks the first approval of combined immunotherapy treatment for NSCLC. This gives patients whose cancer does not have a targetable change a new avenue for treatment and more options than they have ever had.

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