Nivolumab/relatlimab

Nivolumab/relatlimab

Nivolumab/relatlimab, sold under the brand name Opdualag, is a fixed-dose combination medication use to treat melanoma.

It contains nivolumab, a programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1) blocking antibody, and relatlimab, a lymphocyte activation gene-3 (LAG-3) blocking antibody.

It is given by intravenous infusion.

The combination is indicated for the first line treatment of advanced,  unresectable or metastatic, melanoma in people aged twelve years of age and older.

Checkpoint inhibitors affect different phases of T-cell activation, ranging from antigen recognition on T cell receptor activation, and then exhaustion.

LAG3 is important for the regulation of T cell exhaustion.

Signs of T cell exhaustion include decreased cytokinine production, decreased activity, and decrease proliferation.

Targeting LAG3 allows the T cell receptor repetoire to expand, increasing CD8 T-cell activity and promoting an antigen specific immune response.