Benzinga | Aug 4, 2021 08:53AM EDT

F-star Therapeutics Announces Collaboration With MSD To Evaluate FS120 In Combination With KEYTRUDA

F-star Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSTX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing next generation bispecific immunotherapies to transform the lives of patients with cancer, today announced that it has entered into a clinical trial collaboration and supply agreement with MSD (Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA), to evaluate the combination of FS120, F-star's first-in-class dual-agonist tetravalent bispecific antibody targeting CD137 and OX40, with KEYTRUDA(r) (pembrolizumab), MSD's anti-PD-1 therapy.



Under the terms of the agreement, MSD will supply KEYTRUDA for a combination arm that will be included in the adaptive Phase 1 clinical protocol of FS120, sponsored by F-star, that was initiated in December of 2020. FS120 is currently being explored as a monotherapy in dose escalation (NCT04648202), including the evaluation of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in patients with advanced cancer. FS120 will also be evaluated in combination with KEYTRUDA, with the potential for early demonstration of clinical activity in specific tumor subtypes. F-star expects to provide a progress update on the FS120 monotherapy accelerated dose titration cohorts later this year and plans to initiate the KEYTRUDA combination cohorts in the second half of 2022, following completion of the FS120 monotherapy dose escalation.

Louis Kayitalire, Chief Medical Officer of F-star, said "This partnership with MSD represents a significant milestone for our FS120 Phase 1 trial as F-star looks to transform the care of those patients with cancer who have limited treatment options. FS120 offers an opportunity to improve upon current treatment paradigms, either as a monotherapy or in combination. In preclinical studies, FS120 has demonstrated strong additive effects in combination with PD-1 monoclonal antibodies. We look forward to working with MSD to evaluate the potential combined effect of FS120 with KEYTRUDA as we strive to improve the quality of life and duration of response for patients with difficult to treat cancers."