NEW YORK – RemeGen on Sunday said it has inked a partnership to study its antibody-drug conjugates with Innovent Biologics' immunotherapy in biomarker-defined solid tumors.
Yantai, China-based RemeGen plans to assess the activity of its investigational agents, RC88 and RC108, combined with Innovent's checkpoint inhibitor Tyvyt (sintilimab) in two separate Phase I/IIa clinical trials. For the RC88-Tyvyt study, RemeGen will enroll patients with MSLN-expressing cancers, and for the RC108 study, RemeGen will enroll patients with c-MET-expressing cancers.
Tyvyt, which Innovent jointly developed with Eli Lilly, is approved in China for treating multiple tumor types including non-small cell lung, liver, and gastric cancer. Under the terms of the latest collaboration, Innovent will supply Tyvyt in clinical trials, while RemeGen will conduct the Phase I/IIa studies in China.
According to RemeGen, RC88 and RC108 have shown encouraging single-agent anti-tumor activity and manageable safety in ongoing Phase I clinical trials. The firm believes, however, that combining these drugs with the anti-PD-1 immunotherapy Tyvyt could induce immunogenic cell death, in turn releasing signaling molecules to further activate T cells and enhance tumor immune response.
"By combining these therapies with sintilimab, we offer innovative treatment plans that target two pathways," Su Na, RemeGen senior VP, said in a statement. "These mechanisms are complementary, potentially helping to overcome or delay treatment resistance and provide an effective solution to unmet clinical needs."