AstraZeneca and Lilly to conduct immuno-oncology drug trial

AstraZeneca has announced a new collaboration with Lilly that will see the companies join forces on the development of a new immuno-oncology treatment.

The clinical trial collaboration will evaluate the safety and preliminary efficacy of AstraZeneca's investigational anti-PD-L1 immune checkpoint inhibitor MEDI4736 in combination with ramucirumab, Lilly's VEGF receptor 2 antiangiogenic cancer medicine.

Assessing the combination as a treatment for patients with advanced solid tumours, the phase I trial is expected to establish a safety profile and a recommended dosing regimen, with the potential to open expansion cohorts in various tumours of interest.

This demonstrates the companies' commitment to furthering their understanding of immuno-oncology, a new field of research that uses the body's own immune system to fend off cancer.

Robert Iannone, head of immuno-oncology at AstraZeneca's global medicines development unit, said: "Our collaboration with Lilly is a great addition to our programme and provides the opportunity to explore another exciting, novel combination that could deliver important clinical benefit to cancer patients."

AstraZeneca has formed a number of new partnerships in this field in the last few weeks, including collaborations with Celgene and Innate Pharma.