Erasca partners with Merck for cancer drug combination trial

Erasca Inc. (NASDAQ: ERAS) announced a clinical trial collaboration and supply agreement with Merck to evaluate ERAS-0015 in combination with pembrolizumab for patients with RAS-mutant solid tumors.

The agreement supports the AURORAS-1 study, a clinical proof-of-concept trial examining the pan-RAS molecular glue ERAS-0015 combined with Merck's anti-PD-1 therapy KEYTRUDA. Erasca will sponsor the study while Merck provides pembrolizumab at no cost.

ERAS-0015 is an investigational oral drug designed to inhibit RAS signaling. Early dose escalation data from the AURORAS-1 Phase 1 trial showed favorable safety and tolerability results, along with confirmed and unconfirmed partial responses in multiple patients across different tumor types with various RAS mutations at doses as low as 8 mg once daily.

According to the company, approximately 2.7 million patients worldwide are diagnosed annually with RAS-mutant tumors. RAS mutations activate the RAS/MAPK pathway and create an immunosuppressive environment that can limit treatment effectiveness.

"RAS mutations activate the RAS/MAPK pathway and promote an immunosuppressive environment," said Jonathan E. Lim, Erasca's chairman, CEO, and co-founder. "Non-clinical data suggest that targeting the pathway with ERAS-0015 may complement PD-1 blockade by reducing immunosuppression and driving more robust and durable tumor responses."

The San Diego-based clinical-stage precision oncology company focuses on developing therapies for patients with RAS/MAPK pathway-driven cancers. The collaboration aims to explore whether combining pan-RAS inhibition with pembrolizumab can improve therapeutic benefits and limit treatment resistance development.

The information is based on a company press release statement.

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