Lilly and AstraZeneca collaborate on immuno-oncology combination in solid tumors

US pharma major Eli Lilly (NYSE: LY) and Anglo-Swedish peer AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN) have entered into a clinical trial collaboration to evaluate the safety and preliminary efficacy of AstraZeneca's investigational anti-PD-L1 immune checkpoint inhibitor, MEDI4736, in combination with Cyramza (ramucirumab), Lilly's VEGF Receptor 2 antiangiogenic cancer medicine.

The planned study will assess the combination as a treatment for patients with advanced solid tumors. The Phase I study is expected to establish the safety and a recommended dosing regimen – with the potential to open expansion cohorts in various tumors of interest – for the combination of MEDI4736 and ramucirumab. Under the terms of the agreement, the trial will be sponsored by Lilly. Additional details of the collaboration, including tumors to be studied and financial terms, were not disclosed.

MEDI4736 is a monoclonal antibody, developed by MedImmune, AstraZeneca's global biologics R&D arm, directed against programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1). Signals from PD-L1 help tumors avoid detection by the immune system. Ramucirumab is a vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) Receptor 2 antagonist that specifically binds and blocks activation of VEGF Receptor 2 by blocking the binding of VEGF receptor ligands VEGF-A, VEGF-C and VEGF-D. Preclinical data indicate that combining VEGFR inhibitors with immune checkpoint blockades has the potential to enhance anti-tumor activity.