BioXcel Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:BTAI) announced on Monday an expansion of its clinical partnership with Nektar Thereapeutics (NASDAQ:NKTR) to evaluate a potential therapy for pancreatic cancer.
In a statement, the two said they will clinically evaluate the combination of BTI’s BXCL701, a small molecule immune-modulator, DPP 8/9 and FAP inhibitor with Nektar’s NKTR-214, a CD122-biased agonist; and a checkpoint inhibitor as a potential therapy for pancreatic cancer.
Under the terms of the expanded collaboration agreement, BioXcel will be responsible for initiating and managing the clinical program. The primary objectives of the study are to evaluate safety and efficacy of the triplet combination of BXCL701, NKTR-214 and a checkpoint inhibitor for the treatment of patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer. Immune activation markers will also be evaluated in blood and tumor tissue.
“We are excited to expand our collaboration with Nektar to initiate a clinical program for this novel triplet combination regimen,” said Vimal Mehta, the CEO of BioXcel. “We believe the action of BXCL701 on macrophages and neutrophils within the tumor tissue can activate the innate immune system and then in combination with NKTR-214 and an anti-PD1, we can then prime adaptive immune cells in order to trigger T-cell driven anti-cancer activity and the generation of T-cell memory."
Shares of BioXcel closed on Friday almost 2% down at US$7.54. Nektar finished on Friday up 0.96% up at US$59.
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“We believe it is essential to target multiple dimensions of the immune system in parallel in order to address the multi-faceted etiologies underlying cancer cell growth in difficult-to-treat tumors such as pancreatic cancer,” said Jonathan Zalevsky, senior vice-president, Biology & Preclinical Development of Nektar Therapeutics.
“This experimental triplet combination regimen of BXCL701, NKTR-214 and a checkpoint inhibitor is designed to leverage multiple mechanisms of action at once to better fight pancreatic cancer while potentially generating long-term cancer immunity," he added.
BioXcel and Nektar initially announced a preclinical research collaboration in November 2017.
BioXcel Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on drug development that utilizes novel approaches to identify the next wave of medicines across neuroscience and immuno-oncology. The company is based in New Haven, Connecticut.