Today both Amgen (AMGN ) and Merck (MRK) have agreed to expand upon a previous agreement where both companies would collaborate on a combination drug for patients with cancer. In the new collaboration, Amgen is providing its immunotherapy drug talimogene laherparepvec (T-Vec) and Merck's anti-PD-1 immunotherapy pembrolizumab (Keytruda) to form one powerful combo drug. This combo drug will be used in a phase 1 trial in patients with head and neck cancer.
The two companies are also collaborating on a phase 3 trial using the combo drugs in patients with advanced melanoma -- skin cancer. Both immunotherapy compounds are designed to stimulate the immune system. For instance T-Vec is an immunotherapy compound that only replicates when it is inside a tumor. Outside of a tumor the drug doesn't replicate and the patient doesn't experience harmful side effects. This targeted approach increases the efficacy of the immunotherapy.
Merck's Keytruda is a monoclonal-antibody drug that is the first anti-PD-1 immunotherapy to be approved by the FDA. It is currently approved for patients with advanced melanoma. Keytruda inhibits the PD-1 and PD-2 pathways of cancerous cells by blocking them. The blocking of these pathways is important because T-cells -- the immune system -- don't attack cancerous cells because the PD-1 and PD-2 pathways blocks or hide cancerous cells from being detected. Keytruda removes this barrier and allows the T-cells to finally easily see and attack only the cancerous cells that it spots. The combination of both drugs from Amgen and Merck could possibly create an even more powerful cancer treatment that could potentially lead these patients to longer lives.
After this morning's announcement, Merck stock rose 2% throughout the day, while AMGN was largely unaffected.
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