Infinity Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:INFI) has announced that its collaboration with Bristol-Myers Squibb Co (NYSE:BMY) for the evaluation of IPI-549 has been expanded to include TNBC patients.
The company made the announcement recently, revealing that triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) patients that were not previously exposed to anti-PD-L1 or anti-PD-1 therapy will now be included in the collaborative endeavor. The two firms have been working together to evaluate IPI-549 while combined with a checkpoint inhibitor called Opdivo. The main reason for this is that very few TNBC patients respond solely to checkpoint inhibitors. This means TNBC patients have very limited treatment options.
It was therefore important to make sure that TNBC patients were also considered in the collaboration between Infinity and Bristol-Myers. The expanded partnership will cater to patients that were not previously exposed to anti-PD-L1 or anti-PD-1 therapy. The move will allow Infinity to determine whether a combination of Opdivo and IPI-549 can boost patient response to checkpoint inhibition.
“It should be noted that the phase I/Ib study evaluates IPI-549 as a monotherapy and in combination with Opdivo in about 200 patients with advanced solid tumors. Patient enrollment is complete in monotherapy dose-escalation, and monotherapy expansion is ongoing,” stated a recent report regarding the joint venture.
The report also pointed out that dose-escalation has already commenced and that its expansion will most likely take place in the second half of this year. The expansion is also expected to consist of multiple groups of patients with specific types of cancer for the evaluation of IPI-549. This includes patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and melanoma.
It will particularly focus on patients whose tumors initially showed resistance as well as those who develop resistance to immune checkpoint blockade therapy. The expansion will also include TNBC patients that have not yet been exposed to checkpoint blockade therapy. This will allow both Infinity and Bristol-Myers to determine whether the combination will produce favorable results.
Infinity Pharma stock closed the latest trading session on Tuesday at $1.17 after tanking by 3.31 percent compared to the value of the stock during the previous close.