CANCER RESEARCH UK has today (Friday) announced its first
cross-company deal as part of its Experimental Cancer Medicine
Centre (ECMC) Combinations Alliance.
MSD, Verastem, Inc. and Cancer Research UK will trial a new
combination of immunotherapy drugs in mesothelioma, non small cell
lung and pancreatic cancers. The trial will run through the ECMC
network at centres in Edinburgh-Dundee, Southampton, Glasgow,
Leicester and Belfast.
The phase Ib/IIa trial will investigate whether a focal adhesion
kinase (FAK) inhibitor drug from Verastem called VS-6063
(defactinib)* can boost the effectiveness of a PD-1 immunotherapy
drug from MSD called Keytruda (pembrolizumab).
It is based on discoveries by scientists at the Edinburgh Cancer
Research UK Centre at the University of Edinburgh who showed that
inhibiting FAK can release the cancer immune response. Defactinib
may be able to take down a barrier of immune cells which are
tricked into protecting the cancer cells while pembrolizumab can
activate cancer-killing immune cells to attack those exposed cancer
cells.
Around 50-60 cancer patients will take the drug combination,
starting with a small dose and building this up to find what is
safe. The scientists will also study how the treatments target the
cancers and what effects the drug combination has on the
tumours.
The trial will open between late 2016 and early 2017. It will be
managed by the Cancer Research UK clinical trials unit in Glasgow
and co-sponsored by the University of Glasgow and NHS Greater
Glasgow and Clyde.
Dr Mercia Page, medical director of oncology at MSD, said: “We
look forward to working with Cancer Research UK and Verastem on
this promising combination. Strategic collaborations such as this
reinforce the commitment we have to bringing a range of new
treatments to the forefront, helping people with cancer who need a
number of options available to them.”
Dr Greg Berk, Verastem chief medical officer, said: “Combining
defactinib and MSD’s pembrolizumab through the Combinations
Alliance expands our potential to deliver transformative therapies
to patients with many types of cancer.
“We are delighted to be working with the Combinations Alliance,
MSD, and world class scientists and medical centres throughout the
UK on this trial. This study will build on the single agent
activity of defactinib observed in early clinical trials in
patients with non-small cell lung cancer and other tumour types,
and follows from substantial preclinical research which has
demonstrated that FAK inhibition optimizes the tumour immune
balance and potentiates efficacy of PD-1 checkpoint
inhibition.”
Dr Ian Walker, director of clinical research at Cancer Research
UK, said: “It’s vital that we find new treatments for these three
cancers which take tens of thousands of lives each year in the UK
and we’re delighted to be working with MSD and Verastem on
this.
“Our Combinations Alliance was set up to help develop
partnerships between drug development companies and researchers to
try new combinations of drugs in the hope of improving treatments
and saving more lives from cancer. This is our first success in
bringing together two organisations and we hope that this
combination of immunotherapy drugs will benefit patients.”
Mesothelioma, pancreatic and non small cell lung cancers have
very low survival – with more than half (60 per cent) of
mesothelioma patients, more than three quarters (79 per cent) of
pancreatic cancer patients and two thirds (68 per cent) of lung
cancer patients dying within a year of diagnosis in England and
Wales.*
Trial co-lead Dr Stefan Symeonides, from the University of
Edinburgh, said: “Immunotherapy is a very exciting area of cancer
research and we’ve seen remarkable benefits from pembrolizumab for
some patients with hard-to-treat cancers, like melanoma and lung
cancer. We’re hoping that the addition of defactinib will extend
those benefits to more patients.
“This work could one day give a new treatment option that saves
lives for this group of patients who have few options.”
Notes to editor:
* There are 2,688 new cases of mesothelioma and 2,429 deaths
from the disease in the UK each year. There are 8,875 new cases of
pancreatic cancer and 8,662 deaths from the disease in the UK each
year. There are 48,488 new cases of lung cancer and 33,371 deaths
from the disease in the UK each year – 90 per cent of lung cancer
cases are non small cell lung cancer.
About MSD
At MSD we believe the most important thing we make is a
difference. We operate in more than 140 countries and through our
prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, and animal
health products we work with customers to bring innovative
healthcare solutions to those who need them the most. We also
demonstrate our commitment to increasing access to healthcare
through far-reaching policies, programmes and partnerships. For
more information visit www.msd-uk.com. The company is known as
Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA in the United States and
Canada. Everywhere else, we are known as MSD.
About Verastem, Inc.
Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) is a biopharmaceutical company
focused on discovering and developing drugs to improve outcomes for
patients with cancer. Our product candidates utilize a
multi-faceted approach to treat cancer by reducing cancer stem
cells, enhancing anti-tumor immunity, and modulating the local
tumor microenvironment. Our most advanced clinical product
candidates are the Focal Adhesion Kinase inhibitors, VS-6063 and
VS-4718, and the dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor, VS-5584. For more
information, please visit www.verastem.com.
About Focal Adhesion Kinase
Focal Adhesion Kinase (FAK) is a non-receptor tyrosine kinase
encoded by the PTK-2 gene that is involved in cellular adhesion
and, in cancer, metastatic capability. VS-6063 (defactinib) and
VS-4718 are orally available compounds that are potent inhibitors
of FAK. VS-6063 and VS-4718 utilize a multi-faceted approach to
treat cancer by reducing cancer stem cells, enhancing anti-tumor
immunity, and modulating the local tumor microenvironment. VS-6063
and VS-4718 are currently being studied in multiple clinical trials
for their ability to improve patient outcome.
About the ECMC network
The Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres (ECMC) Network is an
initiative funded in partnership between Cancer Research UK and the
four Health Departments of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and
Wales. Launched in 2007, this £35 million infrastructure award
supports a network of 18 adult and 9 paediatric Centres of
Excellence distributed throughout the UK. The ECMC Network strives
to push the boundaries of cancer care, by bringing together
world-class pockets of scientific and clinical expertise in each of
its adult and paediatric ECMCs whilst providing industry partners
with the opportunity to obtain access to cutting-edge, early-stage
innovation. In 2014-15 alone, ECMCs leveraged over £73,000,000 from
commercial partnerships, with over 2,500 patients recruited onto
the 389 ECMC-supported clinical trials. Find out more at
www.ecmcnetwork.org.uk or @ECMC_UK.
About Cancer Research UK
- Cancer Research UK is the world’s
leading cancer charity dedicated to saving lives through
research.
- Cancer Research UK’s pioneering work
into the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer has helped
save millions of lives.
- Cancer Research UK receives no
government funding for its life-saving research. Every step it
makes towards beating cancer relies on every pound donated.
- Cancer Research UK has been at the
heart of the progress that has already seen survival in the UK
double in the last forty years.
- Today, 2 in 4 people survive their
cancer for at least 10 years. Cancer Research UK’s ambition is to
accelerate progress so that 3 in 4 people will survive their cancer
for at least 10 years within the next 20 years.
- Cancer Research UK supports research
into all aspects of cancer through the work of over 4,000
scientists, doctors and nurses.
- Together with its partners and
supporters, Cancer Research UK's vision is to bring forward the day
when all cancers are cured.
For further information about Cancer Research UK's work or to
find out how to support the charity, please call 0300 123 1022 or
visit www.cancerresearchuk.org. Follow us on Twitter and
Facebook.
Verastem forward-looking statements notice
This press release includes forward-looking statements about
Verastem’s strategy, future plans and prospects, including
statements regarding the development and activity of Verastem’s
product candidate, VS-6063, and Verastem’s FAK program generally,
and the potential for combination of FAK inhibitors with
immuno-oncology agents, including a potential indication for
pembrolizumab in combination with VS-6063 for mesothelioma, non
small cell lung and pancreatic cancers. The words “anticipate,”
“appear,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,”
“predict,” “project,” “target,” “potential,” “will,” “would,”
“could,” “should,” “continue,” and similar expressions are intended
to identify forward-looking statements, although not all
forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Each
forward-looking statement is subject to risks and uncertainties
that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
expressed or implied in such statement. Applicable risks and
uncertainties include the risks that the preclinical testing of
Verastem’s product candidates and preliminary or interim data from
clinical trials may not be predictive of the results or success of
ongoing or later clinical trials, that data may not be available
when we expect it to be, that enrollment of clinical trials may
take longer than expected, that our product candidates will cause
unexpected safety events, that Verastem will be unable to
successfully initiate or complete the clinical development of its
product candidates, that the development of Verastem’s product
candidates will take longer or cost more than planned, and that
Verastem’s product candidates will not receive regulatory approval
or become commercially successful products. Other risks and
uncertainties include those identified under the heading “Risk
Factors” in Verastem’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year
ended December 31, 2015 and in any subsequent SEC filings. The
forward-looking statements contained in this press release reflect
Verastem’s current views with respect to future events, and
Verastem does not undertake and specifically disclaims any
obligation to update any forward-looking statements.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160930005047/en/
Cancer Research UKEmily Head, 020-3469-6189Out of hours:
07050-264-059orVerastem, Inc.Brian Sullivan,
781-292-4214bsullivan@verastem.com
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