AZ begins liver cancer immunotherapy tie-up with AVEO

AstraZeneca has announced a collaboration with US biotech AVEO oncology to investigate a potential cancer immunotherapy combination in liver cancer. AZ’s Imfinzi (durvalumab) immunotherapy has suffered a series of setbacks but the Anglo-Swedish pharma is still trying to find ways to enhance the drug’s effects by combining it with other medicines. In this case, AZ is looking to combine Imfinzi, an anti-PD-L1 class drug, with AVEO’s Fotivda (tivozanib), in first line hepatocellular carcinoma. Fotivda is an oral, once-daily, potent and highly selective vascular endothelial growth factor tyrosine kinase inhibitor, and the two drugs will be initially tested in a phase 1/2 study.
AVEO will serve as the study sponsor, with study costs shared equally by both parties and clinical drug supplied by each respective company. The phase 1 portion of the study is expected to begin in 2019. AVEO is also testing Fotivda in combination with Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Opdivo (nivolumab) PD-1 cancer immunotherapy in renal cell carcinoma. An oral, once daily, vascular endothelial growth factor tyrosine kinase inhibitor discovered by Kyowa Hakko Kirin, Fotivda inhibits all three VEGF receptors and is designed to minimize off-target toxicities and side effects.