Date: 2016-03-03
Type of information: Clinical research agreement
Compound: avelumab (MSB0010718C) and VS-6063 (defactinib - N-methyl-4-({4-[({3-methyl(methylsulfonyl)amino]pyrazin-2-yl}methyl)amino]-5-(trifluoromethyl)pyrimidin-2-yl}amino)benzamide hydrochloride)
Company: Merck KGaA (Germany) Pfizer (USA - NY) Verastem (USA - CA)
Therapeutic area: Cancer - Oncology
Type agreement: clinical research
Action mechanism: monoclonal antibody/immune checkpoint inhibitor/kinase inhibitor/FAK inhibitor. MSB0010718C (avelumab) is a fully human IgG1 monoclonal antibody that binds to the PD-L1 (programmed death-ligand 1) protein, which is present at high levels in many cancer types. By competitively blocking the interaction with PD-1 receptors, it is believed that MSB0010718C thereby restores anti-tumor T-cell responses and inhibits tumor growth. VS-6063 (defactinib) is an oral small molecule inhibitor of focal adhesion kinase (FAK). This protein is often overproduced in tumors, enabling cancer cells to evade attack by the immune system. As reported in the September 24, 2015, edition of Cell, pre-clinical research shows that FAK inhibition can modulate the balance of immune cells in the tumor, increasing the presence of cytotoxic T cells in the tumor and decreasing the presence of immunosuppressive T regulatory cells. (Serrels A et al. FAK Controls Chemokine Transcription, Tregs, and Evasion of Anti-tumor Immunity.
Cell 2015; 163 (1): 160–73)
Disease: advanced ovarian cancer
Details: * On March 3, 2016, Merck KGaA, Pfizer and Verastem announced that they have entered into an agreement to evaluate aveluma, in combination with Verastem’s VS-6063**, an investigational focal adhesion kinase (FAK) inhibitor, in patients with advanced ovarian cancer. Avelumab is currently under clinical investigation across a broad range of tumor types. The Phase I/Ib clinical trial is expected to begin in the second half of 2016.
Financial terms: Financial terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.
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