Benzinga | Jun 10, 2021 07:02AM EDT

ALX Oncology Announces Clinical Trial Collaboration And Supply Agreement With Eli Lilly To Evaluate ALX148 Plus CYRAMZA, Trastuzumab And Paclitaxel; ALX To Conduct ALX148 Trial, Lilly To Supply Ramucirumab, Financial Terms Not Disclosed

ALX Oncology (NASDAQ:ALXO), a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company developing therapies that block the CD47 checkpoint pathway, today announced it has entered into a clinical trial collaboration and supply agreement with Eli Lilly and Company to evaluate the combination of ALX148, a next generation CD47 blocker, and CYRAMZA(r) (ramucirumab), Lilly's anti-VEGFR2 antibody, for the treatment of patients with HER2-positive gastric cancer or gastroesophageal junction cancer.



Under the terms of the agreement, ALX Oncology will conduct a randomized Phase 2/3 study to evaluate the efficacy of ALX148 in combination with ramucirumab, trastuzumab, and paclitaxel for the treatment of patients whose tumors have progressed following treatment with HER2-targeted therapy and chemotherapy. Lilly will supply ramucirumab for this trial. Financial details of the collaboration agreement are undisclosed.

This clinical collaboration is based on compelling data from the ongoing ASPEN-01 Phase 1b trial in patients with HER2-positive gastric or gastroesophageal junction cancer who had progressed on one or more lines of trastuzumab therapy, which was presented at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer's 35th Anniversary Annual Meeting in November 2020. ALX148 demonstrated a promising initial objective response rate of 64 percent with the combination with ramucirumab, trastuzumab and paclitaxel in patients who historically have low response rates and poor outcomes in this clinical setting. Updated data from the ASPEN-01 Phase 1b trial will be presented at the ESMO 23rd World Congress on Gastrointestinal Cancer on July 3, 2021.

"We are thrilled to enter this collaboration with Lilly that aims to provide a CD47-targeted combination regimen for gastric or gastroesophageal junction cancer patients in need of novel effective treatment options," said Jaume Pons, Ph.D., Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of ALX Oncology. "Our team has worked tirelessly to advance the clinical development of ALX148 in the fight against cancer, and we believe that ALX148 has the potential to be best-in-class as a new foundational immunotherapy in both hematologic and solid tumors."

ALX Oncology owns worldwide commercial rights to ALX148.