BEIJING – Suzhou, China-based Ascentage Pharma Group Inc. said on June 22 that it is working with Astrazeneca plc’s hematology R&D unit, Acerta Pharma, to develop a combination therapy of its Bcl-2 inhibitor, APG-2575, with Acerta's BTK inhibitor, Calquence (acalabrutinib). The first patient has been dosed in the U.S.
Gilead Sciences Inc. has acquired a 49.9% equity interest in privately held Pionyr Immunotherapeutics Inc., which could receive up to $1.15 billion in potential future milestone payments in the deal.
Almost all solid tumors are treated with multiple drugs because the combinations have better efficacy than single-agent treatments. But finding those combinations can be difficult in an ever-growing sea of pair-wise combinations.
Bolstered by the success of CTLA4 and PD-(L)1 antibodies, companies are exploring new targets to encourage the immune system to attack tumors. "While these agents have demonstrated efficacy in a proportion of cancer patients, there clearly is room for improvement to lift the tail of the curve," Michele Teng, associate professor at the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, told the audience at the clinical trials plenary session of the American Association for Cancer Research Virtual Annual Meeting II, where researchers presented data from a pair of immunotherapies looking to build on the success targeting PD-(L)1.
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