Bristol-Myers Squibb has established the Immuno-Oncology Rare Population Malignancy (I-O RPM) program in the US. The I-O RPM program is a multi-institutional initiative with academic-based cancer centers focused on the clinical investigation of immuno-oncology therapeutics as potential treatment options for patients with high risk, poor prognostic cancers, defined as a rare population malignancy. A rare population malignancy is a subpopulation within a higher incident disease population (e.g. BRCA 1 and 2 breast cancer). These patients have aggressive disease with an increased potential for early metastasis to multiple sites and/or are initially refractory or subject to early recurrences with conventional cancer therapies.

As part of the I-O RPM program, Bristol-Myers Squibb, the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University (Lurie Cancer Center), and the Northwestern Medicine Developmental Therapeutics Institute (NMDTI) have entered into a collaboration agreement. The Lurie Cancer Center and NMDTI will conduct a range of early-phase clinical studies, and Bristol-Myers Squibb will fund positions within the NMDTI Developmental Therapeutics Fellowship program.

The I-O RPM builds on Bristol-Myers Squibb's formation in 2012 of the International Immuno-Oncology Network (II-ON). II-ON is a global collaboration between Bristol-Myers Squibb and academia focused on facilitating the translation of scientific research findings into clinical trials and, eventually, clinical practice.

Source: Bristol-Myers Squibb