With Pfizer ($PFE) pounding on the door amid a full-blown ruckus in Parliament, AstraZeneca ($AZN) took another step forward in its quest to quickly advance its high-profile immuno-oncology program for MEDI4736. Its MedImmune unit struck a deal to combine the drug with Incyte's ($INCY) INCB24360, creating what could be the first of many collaborations for its PD-L1 program.
Bristol-Myers Squibb, meanwhile, isn't being left out of the frenzied partnering now going on in the field. Celldex says it's pairing its CD27-targeting antibody varlilumab with nivolumab in a Phase I/II study. And Bristol-Myers is paying $5 million for the privilege, with the two companies splitting the trial costs.
In part, AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers are borrowing from Merck's ($MRK) playbook. Anxious to distinguish itself against rival Bristol-Myers Squibb ($BMY), Merck recently executed a lineup of collaborations for MK-3475, the star immuno-oncology program at the pharma giant which has stirred immense excitement as it barrels toward its first decision from the FDA. In that slate of partnerships Merck included INCB24360, an IDO inhibitor that is among a class of drugs aimed at revving up the immune system to go after cancer cells, while the PD-1 drug releases the biological brakes put on the immune system.
Merck is enjoying some widespread congratulations for its work on MK-3475 after a years-long drought of major drug approvals. And AstraZeneca, another longterm industry laggard, has begun to enjoy the same kind of attention.
Incyte, though, is following other drugs which have largely fallen short in the clinic. Cancer vaccines often can't make a significant difference in the fight against cancer, but a combination has a shot at doing PD-1 or PD-L1 one better. The deal also puts MEDI4736 back in the spotlight, as AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot makes the lurid charge that Pfizer's proposed takeover could derail its work on cancer, threatening patients.
New Incyte CEO Hervé Hoppenot also stands to gain some welcome attention as he tries to burnish the company's cancer drug prospects with investors. And new collaborations could ease any lackluster results his drug may see as a monotherapy.
"Research collaborations that evaluate combinations of novel immunotherapies across a broad range of indications have the potential to accelerate our understanding of this rapidly evolving field, to identify new areas of opportunity for immunotherapies, and to more rapidly address the unmet needs of patients with a wide range of cancers," said Hoppenot.
- here's the release
- here's the release from Celldex