Affimed rockets on news of deal with Merck on AFM13 and Keytruda
Shares of German drug developer Affimed Therapeutics (Nasdaq: AFMD) rocketed 20.5% to $4.46 by mid-morning US trading today, after the company revealed it has linked with US pharma giant Merck & Co (NYSE: MRK) on a research collaboration in immuno-oncology.
Under the terms of the accord, Affimed will fund and conduct a Phase Ib clinical trial to investigate the combination of Merck's anti-PD-1 therapy, Keytruda (pembrolizumab), with Affimed's proprietary drug candidate AFM13 for the treatment of patients with Hodgkin lymphoma whose disease has relapsed or is refractory to chemotherapy, including treatment with the marketed antibody-drug-conjugate Adcetris (brentuximab vedotin).
Merck will supply Affimed with Keytruda for the clinical trial. The purpose of the study is to establish a dosing regimen for this combination therapy and assess its safety and efficacy. Affimed is on track to initiate the study in the first half of 2016.
This article is accessible to registered users, to continue reading please register for free. A free trial will give you access to exclusive features, interviews, round-ups and commentary from the sharpest minds in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology space for a week. If you are already a registered user please login. If your trial has come to an end, you can subscribe here.
Login to your accountTry before you buy
Free
7 day trial access
- All the news that moves the needle in pharma and biotech
- Exclusive features, podcasts, interviews, data analyses and commentary from our global network of life sciences reporters.
- Receive The Pharma Letter daily news bulletin, free forever.
Become a subscriber
£820
Or £77 per month
- Unfettered access to industry-leading news, commentary and analysis in pharma and biotech.
- Updates from clinical trials, conferences, M&A, licensing, financing, regulation, patents & legal, executive appointments, commercial strategy and financial results.
- Daily roundup of key events in pharma and biotech.
- Monthly in-depth briefings on Boardroom appointments and M&A news.
- Choose from a cost-effective annual package or a flexible monthly subscription
The Pharma Letter is an extremely useful and valuable Life Sciences service that brings together a daily update on performance people and products. It’s part of the key information for keeping me informed
Chairman, Sanofi Aventis UK
More on this story...
Today's issue
Company Spotlight
More Features in Pharmaceutical
Copyright © The Pharma Letter 2024 | Headless Content Management with Blaze