Pfizer and Merck KGaA have formed a collaboration with Debiopharm International, a Lausanne, Switzerland-based biopharmaceutical group of five companies, to evaluate the combination of Debio 1143, Debiopharm’s oral, small-molecule inhibitor of inhibitor of apoptosis proteins (IAPs), with Pfizer’s anti-cancer agent, avelumab, an investigational fully human anti-PD-L1 IgG1 monoclonal antibody, for treating advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Debio 1143 is currently in Phase II development for head and neck and ovarian Cancer. Avelumab is under clinical investigation across a broad range of tumor types by the Merck-Pfizer alliance, which the pharmaceutical majors formed in November 2014 to co-develop and co-commercialize avelumab. Under this new agreement with Debiopharm, Debiopharm will be responsible for conducting the Phase I/Ib clinical trial of the combination therapy in NSCLC.

Source: Debiopharm Group