Incyte Corporation has entered into a clinical trial agreement with Genentech to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and preliminary efficacy of Incyte's oral indoleamine dioxygenase-1 (IDO1) inhibitor, INCB24360, in combination with Genentech's PD-L1 immune checkpoint inhibitor, MPDL3280A, in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Incyte Corporation is a Wilmington, Delaware-based biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of proprietary small-molecule drugs, primarily for oncology.

Under the terms of the collaboration, Incyte and Genentech will collaborate on a non-exclusive basis to evaluate the combination. Incyte will be responsible for conducting the study and the results will be used to determine whether further clinical development of this combination is warranted. Further details of the agreement were not disclosed.

Both INCB24360 and MPDL3280A are part of a new class of cancer treatments known as immunotherapies that are designed to enhance the body's own defenses in fighting cancer; both agents target distinct regulatory components of the immune system. INCB24360 is an orally bioavailable small molecule inhibitor of IDO1 that has nanomolar potency in both biochemical and cellular assays, potent activity in enhancing T lymphocyte, dendritic cell and natural killer cell responses in vitro, with a high degree of selectivity. MPDL3280A (also known as an anti-PDL1) is an investigational monoclonal antibody designed to interfere with a protein called PD-L1 (Programmed Death-Ligand 1). MPDL3280A is designed to make cancer cells more vulnerable to the body's own immune system by interfering with PD-L1. PD-L1 is expressed on tumor cells and tumor-infiltrating immune cells, preventing them from binding to two receptors, PD-1 and B7.1, on the surface of T cells. By inhibiting PD-L1, MPDL3280A may enable the activation of T cells, restoring their ability to effectively detect and attack tumor cells.

The US Food and Drug Administration has granted MPDL3280A Breakthrough Therapy Designation. This designation is designed to expedite the development and review of medicines intended to treat serious diseases and to help ensure patients have access to them through FDA approval as soon as possible.

Source: Incyte Corporation