On September 25, 2015 Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY) and Moffitt Cancer Center reported that they have entered into a collaboration agreement as part of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Immuno-Oncology Rare Population Malignancy (I-O RPM) program in the U.S. 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 (Press release, Bristol-Myers Squibb, SEP 25, 2015, View Source [SID:1234507539]).

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As part of the I-O RPM program, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Moffitt will conduct a range of early phase clinical studies, including clinical investigations by young investigators to strengthen their development as clinical research scientists.

"Moffitt Cancer Center has had a long-standing commitment to immuno-oncology research, including in partnership with Bristol-Myers Squibb, and we look forward to our continued work with them as part of the I-O RPM program," said Laura Bessen, MD, head of U.S. Medical, Bristol-Myers Squibb.

"This new partnership with Bristol-Myers Squibb will foster new Moffitt investigator-initiated studies for rare tumors and gives our faculty the opportunity to educate research students about innovative clinical trials," said Dan Sullivan, M.D., Associate Center Director for Clinical Science at Moffitt.

About I-O RPM

Immuno-oncology is an innovative approach to cancer research and treatment that is designed to harness the body’s own immune system to fight cancer. The I-O RPM program focuses on significant areas of high unmet need marked by poor outcomes among patients with rare population malignancies. 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. Existing clinical research provide a strong rationale for further research into the potential of immunotherapies for these cancers.

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.