AstraZeneca's MedImmune announces cancer immunotherapies partnership with Advaxis

Anglo-Swedish drug major AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN) says that its global biologics research and development arm MedImmune has entered into a clinical trial collaboration with Advaxis (Nasdaq: ADXS), a USA-based biotechnology company developing cancer immunotherapies.

The Phase I/II study will evaluate the combination of MedImmune’s investigational anti-PD-L1 immune checkpoint inhibitor, MEDI4736 and Advaxis’ leading cancer immunotherapy vaccine, ADXS-HPV in treating advanced, recurrent or refractory haman papillomavirus-associated cervical cancer and HPV-associated head and neck cancer. Both treatments are immunotherapies, which use the body’s immune system to fight cancer.

Bahija Jallal, executive vice president of MedImmune, said: “Our collaboration with Advaxis is further evidence of MedImmune’s commitment to explore novel combination approaches as we progress our immuno-oncology portfolio. We believe there could be an important clinical benefit from the combination of MEDI4736 with Advaxis’s antigen-specific cancer vaccine.”