Merck, Sharp & Dohme (MSD; NYSE: MRK), a global healthcare leader, has entered into a strategic collaboration with GV20 Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company specializing in antibody therapeutics with operations in both China and the U.S. The partnership aims to combine GV20’s groundbreaking IGSF8-targeted biologic, GV20-0251, with MSD’s best-selling anti-PD-1 therapy, Keytruda (pembrolizumab). The financial specifics of the agreement were not disclosed.
As part of this alliance, GV20 will integrate Keytruda into an ongoing Phase I clinical trial that is assessing GV20-0251 as a standalone treatment and in combination with MSD’s drug. The trial focuses on patients with advanced solid tumors who have no eligibility for standard-of-care therapies.
IGSF8 is known to inhibit natural killer (NK) and dendritic cells, and pre-clinical data indicates that blocking this activity could have a significant anti-tumor effect with both GV20-0251 as a monotherapy and in combination with an anti-PD-1 drug.- Flcube.com
