Phanes expands Merck collaboration to study cancer drug combination

Phanes Therapeutics, Inc. has expanded its clinical trial collaboration with Merck (NYSE: MRK) to study spevatamig in combination with Merck's anti-PD-1 therapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and chemotherapy as a first-line treatment for biliary tract cancer (BTC).

The expansion builds on an existing clinical trial collaboration and supply agreement between the two companies. Spevatamig is classified as an innate immunity enhancer (I2E), a category of immunotherapy agents said to activate macrophages and dendritic cells to recognize and destroy cancer cells.

Phanes describes I2Es as potentially complementary to immune checkpoint inhibitors, particularly for tumors less likely to respond to that class of treatments.

"We are very pleased to expand the clinical trial collaboration and supply agreement to include BTC, a devastating cancer with high unmet medical needs," said Ming Wang, PhD, MBA, CEO of Phanes.

Phanes is a clinical-stage biotech company focused on oncology drug discovery and development. Merck markets its products under the MSD name outside the United States and Canada.

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