Eligible Ontario residents with difficult-to-treat advanced cancers can now access an innovative new treatment option without having to pay out-of-pocket.
MONTREAL, QUEBEC – March 22, 2017 – Bristol-Myers Squibb Canada Co. (BMS Canada) today announced that Cancer Care Ontario and the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care have agreed to cover the cost of the immuno-oncology treatment OPDIVO® for three different difficultto-treat tumour types, effective March 20, 2017.
The listing of OPDIVO® means that eligible residents of Ontario with metastatic melanoma, locally advanced or metastatic pre-treated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)I and advanced or metastatic pre-treated renal cell carcinoma (RCC) will be able to receive the immuno-oncology treatment, freeof-charge through the Ontario Drug Benefit (ODB) program.
Cancer remains the leading cause of death in Canada. In Ontario, an estimated 29,000 people died of cancer last year, and 77,700 new cases were diagnosed. Lung cancer is among the most commonly diagnosed cancers in Ontario and is the leading cause of cancer-related death in the province, with approximately 7,100 deaths in 2016.
To read the full Bristol-Myers Squibb Canada release, please click here.