AstraZeneca and Peregrine announced new immuno-oncology collaboration

AstraZeneca has announced a new collaboration with Peregrine Pharmaceuticals in the emerging field of immuno-oncology.

The companies aim to assess the safety and efficacy of Peregrine's investigational phosphatidylserine-signalling pathway inhibitor, bavituximab, in combination with durvalumab, AstraZeneca's investigational anti-PD-L1 immune checkpoint inhibitor.

A planned phase I/Ib trial will evaluate the safety and efficacy of bavituximab in combination with durvalumab in multiple solid tumours, with the collaboration to be conducted on a non-exclusive basis.

Bavituximab and durvalumab are investigational immunotherapies with different and potentially complementary mechanisms that assist the body's immune system in fighting cancer.

Robert Iannone, head of immuno-oncology for global medicines development at AstraZeneca, said: "Our partnership with Peregrine provides the opportunity to explore an exciting, novel combination that could deliver important clinical benefit to patients across a range of cancers."

This comes after the company agreed to partner with Heptares Therapeutics on the development of new immuno-oncology treatments earlier this month.