Adlai Nortye Ltd., a global clinical-stage biopharmaceutical firm, has reportedly signed a clinical collaboration contract with Merck to assess the combination of AN0025 – an EP4 Antagonist by Adlai Nortye and KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) an anti-PD-1 therapy by Merck.
According to the terms of the contract, Merck and Adlai Nortye would jointly work in a clinical trial meant for evaluating the safety and initial efficacy of a combination medication comprising KEYTRUDA and AN0025, in individuals suffering from solid tumors.
Carsten Lu, Chief Executive Officer, Adlai Nortye, was quoted stating that the company is rather thrilled to publicize the novel collaboration with Merck as it would allow the firm to introduce unconventional cancer treatments to deal with unmet patient medical needs. Lu further stated that AN0025 is a trial phase oral EP4 antagonist, which is the first-in-class drug equipped with high selectivity and high activity.
The CEO also said that based on initial outcomes, it can be concluded that the medication is fairly tolerated in patients suffering from solid tumors. The new collaboration has been supported by the biopharmaceutical company’s preclinical data exhibiting the ability of AN0025 (EP4 Antagonist) to treat patients who don’t initially respond to KEYTRUDA® – anti-PD-1 therapy alone or are resilient to PD-1 inhibitors with solid tumors, Lu added.
Dr. Lars Birgerson, CEO & CDO, Adlai Nortye USA, was quoted stating that with the proposed action mechanism of AN0025 (EP4 Antagonist) and based on preclinical results the company believes that it would become a primary constituent in furthering the enhancement of Adlai Nortye’s oncology portfolio. During preclinical stages, when AN0025 (EP4 Antagonist) was blended with chemoradiotherapy, immune checkpoint inhibitors, and radiotherapy it exhibited antitumor actions in varied malignancies, mentioned Dr. Birgerson.
The firm is highly optimistic that the proposed combination of KEYTRUDA & AN0025 (EP4 Antagonist) would be able to offer relevant clinical advantage to patients living with solid tumors, Dr. Birgerson added.
