On May 27, 2014 Bristol-Myers Squibb and Incyte reported the establishment of a clinical trial collaboration to evaluate the safety, tolerability and preliminary efficacy of a combination regimen of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s investigational PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor, nivolumab, and Incyte’s oral indoleamine dioxygenase-1 (IDO1) inhibitor, INCB24360, in a Phase I/II study (Press release Bristol-Myers Squibb, MAY 27, 2014, View Source [SID:1234500552]). Multiple tumor types will be explored in the study, which could potentially include melanoma, non-small cell lung (NSCLC), ovarian, colorectal (CRC), squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).
Nivolumab and INCB24360 are part of a new class of cancer treatments known as immunotherapies that are designed to harness the body’s own immune system in fighting cancer. Nivolumab and INCB24360 target distinct regulatory components of the immune system, and there is preclinical evidence suggesting that the combination of these two agents may lead to an enhanced anti-tumor immune response compared to either agent alone.
The study, which is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2014, will be co-funded by the companies and conducted by Incyte. Additional details of the collaboration were not disclosed.