MedImmune and Incyte to Collaborate on Immuno-Oncology Combination Clinical Trial

AstraZeneca’s biologics research unit MedImmune will collaborate with biopharmaceutical company Incyte on a combo drug cancer study, the companies said.

The Phase I/II oncology study will gauge the efficacy and safety of MedImmune’s investigational anti-PD-L1 immune checkpoint inhibitor, MEDI4736, when used with Incyte’s oral indoleamine dioxygenase-1 inhibitor, INCB24360, AstraZeneca said.

The Phase I part of the study will establish a recommended dose regimen of both MEDI4736 and INCB24360 and Phase II will assess the safety and efficacy of the combination.

The combo drugs are immunotherapies, a new class of cancer treatments that use the body’s own immune system to help battle cancer.

Used together, the drugs provide a one-two punch against tumors. MEDI4736 counters the tumor’s immune system-evading tactics by blocking signals, and INCB24360 enhances the immune cells’ ability to fight the tumor. Preclinical evidence suggests that the combination of these two drugs may lead to an enhanced anti-tumor immune system response, AstraZeneca said.

The study will be conducted by Incyte and will be co-funded equally by the two companies.

MedImmune has recently initiated other immuno-oncology combination trials, including MEDI4736 with IRESSA and MEDI4736 with tremelimumab. — Kellen Owings

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