FDA Approves New Treatment for Mesothelioma Victims

FDA Approves New Treatment for Mesothelioma Victims

Finally some good news for our mesothelioma clients. The FDA has approved Bristol Myers Squibb drug combination of Opdivo and Yervoy to be used to treat a form of mesothelioma. It’s been 16 years since there has been a drug to treat malignant pleural mesothelioma where surgery is not an option.

FDA Approves Drug Combination for Treating Mesothelioma

Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer caused by breathing asbestos fibers from a variety of possible sources over the past 50 years. Typically it takes anywhere from 15-50 years from once you breathe the asbestos fibers for it to actually cause mesothelioma, asbestos lung cancer or asbestosis. According to the FDA, about 20,000 Americans are diagnosed with mesothelioma each year from breathing asbestos found in construction materials (sheetrock, joint compound, roofing shingles and felt), powerplants, papermills, shipyards, and aboard ships (pipe covering, block, gaskets, packing, firebrick, etc), automobiles (friction products like brake shoes and clutch discs), and many more trades and occupations that brought unsuspecting people into contact with asbestos.

“Today’s approval of nivolumab (Opdivo) plus ipilimumab (Yervoy) provides a new treatment that has demonstrated an improvement in overall survival for patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma,” said Richard Pazdur, MD, director of the FDA’s Oncology Center of Excellence. “In 2004, FDA approved pemetrexed in combination with cisplatin for this indication, and now patients now have an important, additional treatment option after more than a decade with only one FDA-approved drug regimen.”

Our Asbestos Team

For over 40 years and despite our best efforts to educate legislators and congress about the hazards of asbestos, the United States still imports a tremendous amount of asbestos every year. Alan Pickert leads the Asbestos Team at Terrell • Hogan, said “It truly is a horrific tragedy that people continue to develop mesothelioma and asbestos lung cancer every day. All we can do is to continue to be successful for our asbestos clients in obtaining the justice and compensation they deserve for their asbestos injuries. If someone develops lung cancer or mesothelioma and they believe they may have been exposed to asbestos, they should call us right away.”

Alan Pickert at and the Asbestos Team at Terrell • Hogan in Jacksonville, Florida is dedicated exclusively to assisting asbestos victims and their families throughout the state of Florida and beyond and have been doing so for more than 30 years. On-the-job asbestos exposure – years and years ago – continues to cause serious diseases and our firm is here to help.

Additionally, one can also develop mesothelioma from long term exposure to talcum powder that was sadly contaminated with asbestos. Johnson and Johnson, among others, has been recalling baby powder that appears to have been contaminated with chrysotile asbestos. It appears from their corporate records during the 1960s and 1970s, that many of the companies knew that their talcum powder was contaminated with asbestos and yet still sold it to the unsuspecting public with no warnings.

If you or a loved one is diagnosed with mesothelioma or lung cancer, please contact us for a free consultation. We only charge a fee if we are successful with your case. We are here to help.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE

Get Help Now

Fill this out for a FREE case review.

Getting Started

Briefly type in what happened.
That’s all it takes to start the conversation, and, together, we will decide if Terrell • Hogan is the injury and wrongful death law firm to help you.

Sending your message means you are familiar with the purpose of this website.

About The Author

Alan Pickert

Alan Pickert

Alan Pickert, a longtime partner at the law firm Terrell • Hogan P.A., has been handling mesothelioma, asbestos lung cancer, auto/trucking accidents, dog attacks, bike accidents, and vaccine cases for over twenty five years in Florida. He has successfully handled over 2,000 asbestos cases and over 400 wrongful death lawsuits and he obtained one of the largest awards in the history of Vaccine Court for a child injured by the DTaP vaccine.