MedImmune and Incyte to collaborate on immunotherapy

MedImmune, the global biologics research and development arm of Anglo-Swedish drug major AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN), has entered into a clinical study collaboration with US biopharmaceutical company Incyte (Nasdaq: INCY).

The Phase I/II oncology study will evaluate the efficacy and safety of MedImmune’s investigational anti-PD-L1 immune checkpoint inhibitor, MEDI4736, in combination with Incyte’s oral indoleamine dioxygenase-1 (IDO1) inhibitor, INCB24360. MEDI4736 blocks the signals that help tumors avoid detection by the immune system, countering the tumor’s immune-evading tactics, while INCB24360 enhances the ability of immune cells to combat the tumor. Preclinical evidence suggests that the combination of these two agents may lead to an enhanced anti-tumor immune response.

Combination to be studied in Ph I trials