Neoleukin, a biopharmaceutical company utilizing sophisticated computational methods to design de novo protein therapeutics, announced the treatment of the first patient in a combination arm evaluating the safety and efficacy of Neoleukin’s NL-201 in combination with Merck’s anti-PD-1 therapy KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab), as part of Neoleukin’s ongoing Phase 1 trial in patients with relapsed or refractory solid tumors. “We are pleased to begin the combination arm of our NL-201 trial and evaluate the potential to combine these two agents, which demonstrated encouraging preclinical anti-tumor activity in multiple tumor models,” said Priti Patel, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Neoleukin. “Based on the preclinical information, we believe that adding NL-201 to pembrolizumab has the potential to provide increased benefits to patients, and we are excited to learn more through this part of the study.”Up to 132 patients will be enrolled in the combination arm of the study, which is being conducted through a clinical collaboration and supply agreement with Merck (known as MSD outside the United States and Canada). The trial is assessing safety, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, immunogenicity, and antitumor activity. KEYTRUDA® is a registered trademark of Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA.
