Oct 19 (Reuters) - Bristol Myers Squibb said on Thursday the injectable form of Opdivo, its blockbuster cancer drug, was found to be non-inferior in a late-stage trial to the approved intravenous form used in patients with a type of kidney cancer.

The new formulation that met the main goal in the trial uses Halozyme Therapeutics' proprietary technology, which allows large volumes of the drug, currently administered as an intravenous form, to be delivered as an injection under the skin.

"We believe this new option, given as a single injection administered in less than five minutes, could transform the treatment experience for both patients and physicians," Gina Fusaro, an executive at Bristol Myers Squibb, said in a statement.

The trial also showed a non-inferior response rate to the drug, compared to its intravenous form, meeting the secondary goal of the trial.

(Reporting by Leroy Leo in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Shinjini Ganguli)