Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY) and Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:INFI) have recently entered into an agreement to commence a collaborative clinical trial evaluating the former’s Opdivo in combination with the latter’s IPI-549 for the treatment of patients with advanced solid tumors.

Opdivo and IPI-549

Opdivo has been specifically developed to deal with immunosuppression. It is the first PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor to be approved worldwide. Presently, it is commercially approved in more than 50 markets.

Meanwhile, IPI-549 is a lead oral immuno-oncology development candidate of Infinity Pharmaceuticals. It has been specifically developed as a selective inhibitor of phosphoinositide-3-kinase-gamma (PI3K-gamma). Presently, it is the only inhibitor of PI3K-gamma under an ongoing clinical development program. Accordingly, IPI-549 has the potential to facilitate an anti-tumor immune response.

Combination Therapy

The Phase I clinical trial under the strategic partnership of Bristol-Myers Squibb and Infinity Pharmaceuticals will evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of the combination therapy in treating patients with advanced solid tumors. Specifically, the combination therapy will target the tumor microenvironment under the clinical trial.

“Our agreement with Infinity builds on our continued focus to bring forward potential novel combination treatment options for patients with cancer,” noted Fouad Namouni, M.D., Bristol-Myers Squibb Head of Oncology Development.

Bristol-Myers Squibb and Infinity Pharmaceuticals are both hopeful about this new collaboration. It paves the way for new opportunities for the companies to explore, enabling them to strengthen their respective research and development (R&D) efforts at a crucial time in the industry.

The activity, pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, safety, and tolerability of IPI-549 as a monotherapy will be assessed in the Phase I clinical trial. Moreover, the pharmacodynamics of IPI-549 in combination with Opdivo will also be evaluated. The clinical trial will enroll about 175 subjects with advanced solid tumors.

Following the completion of the trial, the companies plan to pursue an expansion phase evaluating the combination therapy for the treatment of patients with select solid tumors.

On Wednesday, Bristol-Myers Squibb has jumped 5.91% to $56.30 while Infinity Pharmaceuticals has advanced 12.50% to $1.17.