Pfizer and Merck join forces
26 Aug 2014
Effective anti-PD-1 cancer therapy could be one step closer after firms agree partnership.
US pharmaceutical firm Pfizer has announced plans to collaborate with life sciences company Merck & Co to explore the therapeutic potential of combining the lung cancer drug Xalkori with Merck’s pembrolizumab anti-tumour immunotherapy.
Pfizer said a Phase 1b clinical study evaluating the safety and tolerability of the combination in patients with ALK-positive advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer will be conducted.
“Understanding the effects of combining one drug, Xalkori, which inhibits an abnormally activated enzyme in patients with ALK-positive metastatic lung cancer, with the investigational drug, pembrolizumab, which harnesses the body’s immune system to fight cancer, is vital if we are to continue to advance the care of lung cancer patients,” said Mace Rothenberg, chief medical officer for Pfizer Oncology.
A multi-centre clinical trial is expected to begin in 2015, with Pfizer conducting the study.
“Evidence from early studies of pembrolizumab monotherapy together with Xalkori’s proven targeted therapeutic approach provides the scientific rationale for evaluating this combination for the treatment of lung cancer,” said Eric Rubin, vice president, oncology, Merck Research Laboratories.
