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ipilimumab

Sold as Yervoy. First FDA approval 03/25/2011: 15 years on the US market.

This grade answers one narrow question: how strong is the public evidence and safety record behind this drug, and how clean is its money trail and court record? It is not a verdict on whether the drug is right for you.

B

Score breakdown (80/100)

Safety ×35%
B
Evidence ×25%
C
Regulatory ×15%
A
Money & lawsuits ×15%
A
Options ×10%
F

Safety: 84

Evidence: 71

Regulatory history: 95

Money & lawsuits: 100

Options: 40

What the FDA label says

Approved uses

is a human cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 (CTLA-4)-blocking antibody indicated for: Melanoma • Treatment of unresectable or metastatic melanoma in adults and pediatric patients 12 years and older as a single agent or in combination with nivolumab. (1.1) • Adjuvant treatment of adult patients with cutaneous melanoma with pathologic involvement of regional lymph nodes of more than 1 mm who have undergone complete resection, including total lymphadenectomy. (1.2) Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC) • Treatment of adult patients with intermediate or poor risk advanced renal cell carcinoma, as first-line treatment in combination with nivolumab. (1.3) Colorectal Cancer • Treatment of adults and pediatric patients 12 years and older with unresectable or metastatic microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) or mismatch repair deficient (dMMR) colorectal cancer (CRC) as determined by an FDA-authorized test in combination with nivolumab. (1.4) Hepatocellular Carcinoma • adult patients with unresectable or metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) as first-line treatment in combination with nivolumab. ( 1.5 ) • in combination with nivolumab in adult patients with unresectable or metastatic HCC who have...

Contraindications

None. • None. (4)

Warnings and precautions

• Severe and Fatal Immune-Mediated Adverse Reactions : Immune-mediated adverse reactions (IMAR) can occur in any organ system or tissue, including the following: immune-mediated colitis, immune-mediated hepatitis, immune-mediated dermatologic adverse reactions, immune-mediated endocrinopathies, immune-mediated pneumonitis, and immune-mediated nephritis with renal dysfunction, and can occur at any time during treatment or after discontinuation. Monitor for symptoms and signs that may be clinical manifestations of IMAR. Evaluate clinical chemistries including liver enzymes, creatinine, adrenocorticotropic hormone level and thyroid function including at baseline and before each dose. In general, withhold YERVOY for severe (grade 3) and permanently discontinue for life-threatening (grade 4) immune-mediated adverse reactions. See Full Prescribing Information for additional dosage modifications. ( 2.3 , 5.1 ) • Infusion-Related Reactions : Discontinue for severe and life-threatening infusion-related reactions. Interrupt or slow the rate of infusion in patients with mild or moderate infusion-related reactions. ( 2.3 , 5.2 ) • Complications of allogeneic HSCT : Fatal and other serious comp...

Adverse reactions (label)

The following clinically significant adverse reactions are described elsewhere in the labeling: • Severe and fatal immune-mediated adverse reactions [see Warnings and Precautions (5.1) ] . • Infusion-related reactions [see Warnings and Precautions (5.2) ] . Most common adverse reactions (≥20%) with YERVOY as a single agent are fatigue, diarrhea, pruritus, rash, nausea, and headache. (6.1) Most common adverse reactions (≥20%) with YERVOY in combination with nivolumab are fatigue, diarrhea, rash, pruritus, nausea, musculoskeletal pain, pyrexia, cough, decreased appetite, vomiting, abdominal pain, dyspnea, upper respiratory tract infection, arthralgia, headache, hypothyroidism, constipation, decreased weight, and dizziness. (6.1) Most common adverse reactions (≥20%) with YERVOY in combination with nivolumab and platinum-doublet chemotherapy are fatigue, musculoskeletal pain, nausea, diarrhea, rash, decreased appetite, constipation, and pruritus. (6.1) To report SUSPECTED ADVERSE REACTIONS, contact Bristol-Myers Squibb at 1-800-721-5072 or FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch . 6.1 Clinical Trials Experience Because clinical trials are conducted under widely varying conditions...

Recent major label changes

Indications and Usage ( 1 ) 6/2026 Dosage and Administration (2) 6/2026 Warnings and Precautions (5) 8/2026

Source: FDA SPL label for YERVOY (E.R. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C.), effective 20260820. Full label on DailyMed.

Side-effect reports sent to the FDA

These are counts of reports people filed, not rates of harm. Anyone can file one, and nobody checks whether the drug was the cause. Millions of doses are taken for every report sent, so the useful part is how this drug compares with the average across all drugs.

39,882reports that mention this drug
39,863of those blame this drug, not another one the person was taking
89%of reports describe a serious outcome, such as a hospital stay (average for all drugs: 57%)
22.1%of reports include a death, from any cause (average for all drugs: 9.1%)

Problems reported most often

Death · 4,098Malignant Neoplasm Progression · 3,501Diarrhoea · 2,669Off Label Use · 2,494Colitis · 2,056Pyrexia · 1,915Rash · 1,644Fatigue · 1,539Intentional Product Use Issue · 1,347Nausea · 1,237Immune-Mediated Enterocolitis · 1,122Decreased Appetite · 1,041Hypophysitis · 1,007Dyspnoea · 948Pneumonia · 931

Reports per year

20192020202120222023202420252026
4,2763,6144,0994,4093,2183,2482,5341,576

Source: the FDA's Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS). Reports are voluntary and unverified. Drugs that are prescribed a lot, in the news, or in lawsuits attract more reports, so the percentages are compared with the whole database to correct for that partly, not fully.

Recalls and regulatory record

0recall actions on file
0 / 0brand / generic applications
0label changes since 2021
NoREMS program

Evidence base

237randomized trials (PubMed)
44systematic reviews
987registered trials
70%of completed trials posted results
18%terminated or withdrawn
56%industry-funded

Counts measure how much evidence exists and how transparent it is, not how big the benefit is. For that, ask your prescriber: if 100 people like me took this, how many would get better because of it, and how many would be harmed? (Doctors call these the "number needed to treat" and "number needed to harm.") It differs by condition and is the number drug ads leave out. Sources: PubMed, ClinicalTrials.gov.

Money and lawsuits

In 2024, drug companies reported $5 in payments to US physicians and hospitals tied to this drug across 1 transactions (Yervoy $5).

No pending federal MDL names this drug or its brands.

Not named in any federal pharmaceutical settlement of $100M or more on record.

Sources: CMS Open Payments (Sunshine Act); Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation pending docket list; DOJ settlements as tabulated on Wikipedia with links to the primary record. State-court and individual suits are not included.

Who takes it and what it costs

203Medicare Part D patients (2024)
623prescriptions filled
$19,408average cost per fill
$12Mtotal Medicare spend

Same-class alternatives

No same-class alternatives found in RxClass.

Questions to ask your prescriber

  1. The most-reported problems in FDA's adverse event data are death, malignant neoplasm progression, diarrhoea. How would we recognize and handle those?
  2. Off-label use is among the most-reported items for this drug. Is my use on-label, and if not, what evidence supports it?
  3. There is no generic. Is there an older generic in the same class that works as well for my situation?
  4. What result are we expecting, by when, and what is the plan if it does not happen?
  5. If 100 people like me took this drug, how many would actually get better because of it, and how many would be harmed by it? (Doctors call these the number needed to treat and the number needed to harm.)