Seattle Genetics Inc. and Bristol-Myers Squibb announced that the companies have initiated a phase 1/2 clinical trial of ADCETRIS (brentuximab vedotin) in combination with Opdivo (nivolumab) for patients with CD30-expressing relapsed or refractory B-cell and T-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL), including diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) and cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL). This is the second of two trials being conducted under a previously announced clinical trial collaboration agreement between Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Seattle Genetics. ADCETRIS is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) directed to CD30, a marker expressed on Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and several types of NHL, which combines the targeting ability of a monoclonal antibody with a highly potent cell-killing agent. Recent preclinical data suggest that ADCETRIS causes immunogenic cell death of tumor cells, providing rationale for combination with Opdivo, a human antibody that targets and inhibits the programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1), resulting in T-cell activation. Opdivo is part of a new class of cancer immunotherapy treatments known as checkpoint inhibitors, which are designed to harness the body’s own immune system in fighting cancer by targeting distinct regulatory components of the immune system.