4D Pharma to trial biotherapeutic candidate in combination with Merck's 'KEYTRUDA'

Clinical stage biopharmaceutical company 4D Pharma announced an agreement with a subsidiary of Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) on Thursday, to conduct a clinical trial evaluating the combination of ‘KEYTRUDA’ (pembrolizumab) - an anti-PD-1 therapy marketed by MSD - and 4D's live biotherapeutic candidate MRx0518 in patients with solid tumours.

The AIM-traded firm said MRx0518, 4D's lead oncology programme, had shown therapeutic potential in a variety of tumour types in pre-clinical models, and had the potential for synergy in combination with checkpoint inhibitor therapies.

It said the phase I study would evaluate safety, tolerability and preliminary clinical benefit of the combination of KEYTRUDA with MRx0518 in patients who progressed on prior PD-1 inhibitor therapy with renal, bladder, melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer.

“At 4D we believe there is strong scientific rationale for evaluating our lead oncology programme MRx0518, in combination with a checkpoint inhibitor,” said founder and CEO Duncan Peyton.

“We are excited to work with MSD and look forward to collaborating on this project.”