India Pharma Outlook Team | Monday, 02 May 2022
Ionova Life Science Co., Ltd., a clinical-stage biotech company, announces it has entered into a clinical trial collaboration agreement with MSD (Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ., USA) to evaluate clinical benefits of INV-1120, Ionova’s EP4 antagonist, in combination with MSD’s anti-PD-1 therapy, Keytruda (pembrolizumab) for cancer treatment.
Under this agreement, Ionova will conduct a phase 1b study in the US to evaluate the safety and efficacy ofINV-1120 combined with Keytruda for the treatment of selected advanced solid tumours. According to Dr. Yongkui Sun, CEO of Ionova and a member of the US National Academy of Engineering, “We are pleased to
collaborate with MSD to evaluate INV-1120 in combination with Keytruda for the treatment of advanced solid tumours. Ionova has previously demonstrated that INV-1120 not only has mono therapeutic anti-cancer efficacy, but also exhibits strong additive anti-cancer benefits in combination with anti-PD-1 therapy in preclinical solid tumour models.
We are excited now that the clinical collaboration with MSD enables us to evaluate the clinical benefits of INV-1120 in combination with Keytruda for certain cancer patients.” Keytruda is a registered trademark of Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA. INV-1120 is a highly potent, highly selective, and orally available EP4 antagonist designed to modulate the tumour microenvironment.
EP4 antagonist has shown to increase T cell infiltration and regulate macrophage functions in tumours, contributing to increased anti-tumour immune responses in preclinical tumour models. INV-1120 is currently in phase I clinical trials in the US and in China. Ionova is a clinical-stage biotech company focused on the discovery and development of innovative cancer medicines especially targeted- and immuno-therapies.
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