Corvus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has expanded its clinical collaboration with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, for CPI-444 in combination with atezolizumab (Tecentriq) to be evaluated in a Phase Ib/II clinical study as second-line therapy in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The study will be part of MORPHEUS, Genentech’s novel cancer immunotherapy platform established to develop immunotherapy combination therapies more rapidly and efficiently.

CPI-444, Corvus’ lead product, is a selective and potent inhibitor of the adenosine A2A receptor. Atezolizumab, developed by Genentech, is a monoclonal antibody designed to target and bind to a protein called PD-L1 (programmed death ligand-1).

Genentech will manage study operations for the trial, which is expected to begin enrolling patients in the 2H17. Financial terms were not disclosed and Corvus will retain global development and commercialization rights to CPI-444. The original clinical collaboration is for the ongoing multicenter Phase 1/1b trial examining the safety and clinical activity of CPI-444 as a single agent and in combination with atezolizumab in patients with multiple types of advanced solid tumors.

“NSCLC patients who are resistant or refractory to prior treatment with anti-PD(L)-1 antibodies have few treatment options and we are very pleased that Genentech will include CPI-444 in MORPHEUS for this difficult-to-treat patient population,” said Richard A. Miller, M.D., an oncologist and co-founder, president and chief executive officer of Corvus. “CPI-444 has demonstrated promising clinical activity and good tolerability, both as a single agent and in combination with atezolizumab, including in patients with PD-L1 negative tumors. In addition to the inclusion of CPI-444 in MORPHEUS, these encouraging results have also allowed us to expand the size of four cohorts, including for NSCLC patients, in our ongoing Phase 1/1b trial.”