Merck & Co. and Aeglea BioTherapeutics, an Austin, Texas-headquartered biotechnology company, have entered into a clinical collaboration to evaluate the combination of Merck & Co.’s anti-PD-1 therapy, Keytruda (pembrolizumab), with Aeglea’s investigational cancer drug, AEB1102 (pegzilarginase), for treating small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). Keytruda is Merck & Co.’s lead immuno-oncology drug with 2016 global sales of $1.4 billion.

The multicenter Phase I/II study will evaluate overall response rate in patients with extensive disease SCLC who have relapsed or progressed after receiving platinum-based chemotherapy. Enrollment is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2018.

In the US, Keytruda is approved for treating various cancers: metastatic melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer, head and neck cancer, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, urothelial carcinoma, and gastric cancer.

Source: Aeglea BioTherapeutics