Merck and Pfizer trial cancer combination with Australia’s Immutep

Australian biotech Immutep has begun a clinical trial partnership with Germany’s Merck KGaA and Pfizer to develop a new cancer immunotherapy combination therapy. Sydney-based Immutep will develop its immunotherapy eftilagimod alpha (left) in combination with Merck and Pfizer’s anti PD-L1 antibody avelumab in patients with advanced solid tumors.
A planned clinical evaluation will be an amendment to the existing INSIGHT phase I clinical trial and will evaluate the safety, tolerability and recommended Phase II dose of efti when combined with avelumab in patients with advanced solid malignancies. The Institute of Clinical Cancer Research (ICCR), Krankenhaus Nordwest GmbH in Frankfurt, Germany (IKF) will be the sponsor of the clinical trial and it will be conducted under the existing protocol of the ongoing INSIGHT clinical study.