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Drug

Nivolumab

Established medicine

Primarily used for Non-Small-Cell Lung Carcinoma & Melanoma.

ResearchActive indication expansion

Also known as NIVO, Opdivo, Opdivo Qvantig, Opdualag.

RxNorm1597876UNII31YO63LBSN
78
Research papers
86
Regulatory events
Latest activity
beta

Recent clinical, regulatory, research and industry developments relating to this drug.

Trastuzumab Deruxtecan with Nivolumab in HER2-Expressing Metastatic Breast or Urothelial Cancer: Analysis of the Phase Ib DS8201-A-U105 Study.

Research2024-12-01Hamilton E · Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research

Profile

Identifiers & mechanism

Canonical identifiers, marketed brand names and mechanism, resolved across RxNorm, ChEMBL and ATC.

Canonical name
Nivolumab
Aliases & brands
NIVOOpdivoOpdivo QvantigOpdualag
RxNorm CUI
1597876
UNII
31YO63LBSN
Regulatory jurisdictions
fdaema

Regulatory timeline

86 events

The complete regulatory record, grouped by authority — approvals, safety advisories and label changes. Each authority shows its most recent events; expand one to read its full history.

Approval / market entry confirmed across FDA and EMA (2014-12-222016-11-10)
Earliest approval
2014-12-22
Latest approval
2026-03-20
Authorities
FDA · EMA
Total events
86
fdaU.S. Food and Drug Administration· 85 events
2026-08-12Label change
Label change: NIVOLUMAB (BLA125554)
Evidence ↗
2026-05-12Label change
Label change: NIVOLUMAB (BLA125554)
Evidence ↗
2026-03-20Indication expansion
Indication expansion: NIVOLUMAB (BLA125554)
Evidence ↗
emaEuropean Medicines Agency· 1 event
2015-06-19ApprovalMulti-authority
Approval: Opdivo (EMA)
Indication: Melanoma Opdivo as monotherapy or in combination with ipilimumab is indicated for the treatment of advanced (unresectable or metastatic) melanoma in adults and adolescents 12Show full indication

Melanoma Opdivo as monotherapy or in combination with ipilimumab is indicated for the treatment of advanced (unresectable or metastatic) melanoma in adults and adolescents 12 years of age and older.Relative to nivolumab monotherapy, an increase in progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) for the combination of nivolumab with ipilimumab is established only in patients with low tumour PD-L1 expression (see sections 4.4 and 5.1). Adjuvant treatment of melanoma Opdivo as monotherapy is indicated for the adjuvant treatment of adults and adolescents 12 years of age and older with Stage IIB or IIC melanoma, or melanoma with involvement of lymph nodes or metastatic disease who have undergone complete resection (see section 5.1). Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) Opdivo in combination with ipilimumab and 2 cycles of platinum-based chemotherapy is indicated for the first-line treatment of metastatic non-small cell lung cancer in adults whose tumours have no sensitising EGFR mutation or ALK translocation. Opdivo as monotherapy is indicated for the treatment of locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer after prior chemotherapy in adults. Neoadjuvant treatment of NSCLC Opdivo in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy is indicated for the neoadjuvant treatment of resectable non-small cell lung cancer at high risk of recurrence in adult patients whose tumours have PD-L1 expression ≥ 1% (see section 5.1 for selection criteria). Neoadjuvant and adjuvant treatment of NSCLC Opdivo, in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy as neoadjuvant treatment, followed by OPDIVO as monotherapy as adjuvant treatment, is indicated for the treatment of resectable non-small cell lung cancer at high risk of recurrence in adult patients whose tumours have PD-L1 expression ≥ 1% (see section 5.1 for selection criteria). Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) Opdivo in combination with ipilimumab is indicated for the first-line treatment of adult patients with unresectable malignant pleural mesothelioma. Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) Opdivo as monotherapy is indicated for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma after prior therapy in adults. Opdivo in combination with ipilimumab is indicated for the first-line treatment of adult patients with intermediate/poor-risk advanced renal cell carcinoma (see section 5.1). Opdivo in combination with cabozantinib is indicated for the first-line treatment of adult patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (see section 5.1). Classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) Opdivo in combination with doxorubicin, vinblastine and dacarbazine (AVD) is indicated for adults and adolescents 12 years of age and older with previously untreated Stage III or IV classical Hodgkin lymphoma. Opdivo as monotherapy is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma after autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) and treatment with brentuximab vedotin. Opdivo in combination with brentuximab vedotin is indicated for the treatment of children 5 years of age and older, adolescents and adults up to 30 years of age with relapsed or refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma after one prior line of therapy (see section 5.1). Squamous cell cancer of the head and neck (SCCHN) Opdivo as monotherapy is indicated for the treatment of recurrent or metastatic squamous cell cancer of the head and neck in adults progressing on or after platinum-based therapy (see section 5.1). Urothelial carcinoma Opdivo in combination with cisplatin and gemcitabine is indicated for the first-line treatment of adult patients with unresectable or metastatic urothelial carcinoma. Opdivo as monotherapy is indicated for the treatment of locally advanced unresectable or metastatic urothelial carcinoma in adults after failure of prior platinum-containing therapy. Adjuvant treatment of urothelial carcinoma Opdivo as monotherapy is indicated for the adjuvant treatment of adults with muscle invasive urothelial carcinoma (MIUC) with tumour cell PD-L1 expression ≥ 1%, who are at high risk of recurrence after undergoing radical resection of MIUC (see section 5.1). Mismatch repair deficient (dMMR) or microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) colorectal cancer (CRC) Opdivo in combination with ipilimumab is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with mismatch repair deficient or microsatellite instability-high colorectal cancer in the following settings:- first-line treatment of unresectable or metastatic colorectal cancer;- treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer after prior fluoropyrimidine-based combination chemotherapy (see section 5.1). Oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) Opdivo in combination with ipilimumab is indicated for the first-line treatment of adult patients with unresectable advanced, recurrent or metastatic oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma with tumour cell PD-L1 expression ≥ 1%. Opdivo in combination with fluoropyrimidine‑ and platinum‑based combination chemotherapy is indicated for the first‑line treatment of adult patients with unresectable advanced, recurrent or metastatic oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma with tumour cell PD‑L1 expression ≥ 1%. Opdivo as monotherapy is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable advanced, recurrent or metastatic oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma after prior fluoropyrimidine‑ and platinum‑based combination chemotherapy. Adjuvant treatment of oesophageal or gastro‑oesophageal junction cancer (OC or GEJC) Opdivo as monotherapy is indicated for the adjuvant treatment of adult patients with oesophageal or gastro‑oesophageal junction cancer who have residual pathologic disease following prior neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (see section 5.1). Gastric, gastro‑oesophageal junction (GEJ) or oesophageal adenocarcinoma Opdivo in combination with fluoropyrimidine‑ and platinum‑based combination chemotherapy is indicated for the first‑line treatment of adult patients with HER2‑negative advanced or metastatic gastric, gastro‑oesophageal junction or oesophageal adenocarcinoma whose tumours express PD‑L1 with a combined positive score (CPS) ≥ 5. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) Opdivo in combination with ipilimumab is indicated for the first‑line treatment of adult patients with unresectable or advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.

Evidence ↗

Data from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (U.S. Food and Drug Administration), public domain (CC0).

Contains information from the European Medicines Agency (European Medicines Agency), © EMA, reused under CC BY 4.0.

Research activity

78 papers

Key research shaping understanding of this drug, combining the latest publications with the most influential evidence.

Publications over time
20102025
Most influential

Safety, activity, and immune correlates of anti-PD-1 antibody in cancer.

The New England journal of medicine · 2012 · 9,851 cites

Nivolumab versus Docetaxel in Advanced Nonsquamous Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer.

The New England journal of medicine · 2015 · 7,498 cites

Combined Nivolumab and Ipilimumab or Monotherapy in Untreated Melanoma.

The New England journal of medicine · 2015 · 5,963 cites

Nivolumab versus Everolimus in Advanced Renal-Cell Carcinoma.

The New England journal of medicine · 2015 · 4,442 cites

Nivolumab in previously untreated melanoma without BRAF mutation.

The New England journal of medicine · 2015 · 4,269 cites

Nivolumab for Recurrent Squamous-Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck.

The New England journal of medicine · 2016 · 3,835 cites
Recent papers
Major research themes8
Nivolumab17Lung Neoplasms13Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung12Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols11Neoadjuvant Therapy8Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors6Melanoma5Antineoplastic Agents, Immunological4
Journals, researchers & institutions
Top journals
  • The New England journal of medicine18
  • Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology12
  • Nature medicine8
  • Journal for immunotherapy of cancer7
  • BMC cancer3
  • JAMA oncology3
Leading researchers
  • Brahmer JR8
  • Ascierto PA7
  • Hodi FS7
  • Schadendorf D7
  • Chiarion-Sileni V6
  • Choueiri TK6
  • Larkin J6
  • Long GV6
Leading institutions
free-text, unnormalised
  • Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center10
  • Dana-Farber Cancer Institute8
  • Netherlands Cancer Institute8
  • The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center7
  • Fox Chase Cancer Center5
  • Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre4

Related diseases

12 conditions

Regulator-approved indications and conditions co-mentioned with this drug across the research literature. Number shows shared papers.

Related drugs

8 matches

Drugs sharing diseases, protein targets and literature with this one. Ranked by graph evidence (shared targets + diseases weighted above co-mentions).

Studied across 30 of the same disease areas as Nivolumab in the shared literature.

27 shared papers30 shared diseases

Studied across 31 of the same disease areas as Nivolumab in the shared literature.

31 shared diseases5 shared papers

Studied across 15 of the same disease areas as Nivolumab in the shared literature.

15 shared diseases2 shared papers

Studied across 17 of the same disease areas as Nivolumab in the shared literature.

17 shared diseases1 shared paper

Studied across 17 of the same disease areas as Nivolumab in the shared literature.

17 shared diseases1 shared paper

Studied across 15 of the same disease areas as Nivolumab in the shared literature.

15 shared diseases1 shared paper

Studied across 15 of the same disease areas as Nivolumab in the shared literature.

15 shared diseases1 shared paper

Studied across 12 of the same disease areas as Nivolumab in the shared literature.

12 shared diseases2 shared papers
References & data sources
  • RxNorm (U.S. National Library of Medicine) — drug identity
  • Europe PMC — research literature
  • Regulatory event sources are credited in the Regulatory Timeline above.