Collaborations & Alliances

Aduro Biotech, Merck in Clinical Collaboration

To investigate the combination of CRS-207 and KEYTRUDA in gastric cancer

Aduro Biotech, Inc. has entered a clinical collaboration with Merck to investigate the combination of CRS-207, Aduro’s LADD (live, attenuated double-deleted) based immunotherapy, with Merck’s anti-PD-1 therapy KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) for the treatment of gastric cancer.
 
“CRS-207 has demonstrated the ability to induce an anti-tumor immune response in clinical trials in other tumor types that over express the tumor antigen, mesothelin,” said Dirk G. Brockstedt, Ph.D., executive vice president of R&D at Aduro. “Gastric cancer is an immune-sensitive mesothelin-expressing tumor where PD-1 checkpoint inhibitors have shown some activity. The combination of inducing an immune response through CRS-207, while simultaneously suppressing the cancer’s ability to evade the immune system through a PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor, has resulted in synergistic anti-tumor activity in pre-clinical studies. We aspire to reproduce this activity in the clinic in patients with gastric cancer.” 
 
The multicenter Phase I study will enroll patients with metastatic gastric cancer who have failed at least two prior therapies to receive the combination of CRS-207 and pembrolizumab. 

Keep Up With Our Content. Subscribe To Contract Pharma Newsletters