- Imugene (IMU) joins forces with Merck & Co for a new clinical trial collaboration and supply agreement for treating gastric cancer
- Imugene and Merck trade name, MSD, will evaluate the safety and efficacy of Imugene’s HER-Vaxx, a B-cell activating immunotherapy, in combination with MSD’s anti-PD1 therapy or chemotherapy in patients with HER-2 positive gastric cancer
- Under the terms of the agreement, Imugene will fund the clinical study from existing budgets and resources, while MSD will provide the drug for the duration of the study
- Imugene last traded at 25 cents on March 14
Imugene (IMU) has joined forces with Merck & Co for a new clinical trial collaboration and supply agreement for the treatment of gastric cancer.
Imugene and MSD, a trade name of Merck, will evaluate the safety and efficacy of Imugene’s HER-Vaxx, a B-cell activating immunotherapy.
The company said the phase two clinical trial will be done in combination with MSD’s anti-PD1 therapy, pembrolizumab, or chemotherapy in patients with HER-2 positive gastric cancer.
Treatment of gastric or gastro-esophageal cancer remains an unmet need for HER-2 positive patients. Combining HER-Vaxx with immune checkpoint inhibitors potentially improves treatment outcomes for patients with this difficult to treat cancer, according to Imugene.
The study’s primary endpoints will be safety and response rate, with secondary endpoints including duration of response, progression free survival, overall survival and biomarker evaluation.
“HER-Vaxx has already shown a tolerable safety profile and encouraging efficacy in patients with metastatic HER-2 positive gastric cancer, and we look forward to further evaluating HER-Vaxx with pembrolizumab in a relapsed/refractory metastatic setting,” Imugene Managing Director and CEO Leslie Chong said.
“This collaboration with MSD is significant for our company as it provides the opportunity to optimise and enhance our formulations and utility in an additional setting in an effort to improve outcomes for more patients.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Imugene will be the sponsor of the study, funding the clinical trial from existing budgets and resources, while MSD will provide the pembrolizumab for the study’s duration.
The agreement will run for an indefinite term until final reports of the study have been completed, with an anticipated run time of at least 24 months. It includes customary termination and intellectual property provisions for a clinical collaboration agreement.
Imugene last traded at 25 cents on March 14.