Benzinga | Jan 10, 2022 08:27AM EST

Neoleukin Therapeutics Announces Clinical Collaboration With Merck To Evaluate NL-201 In Combination With KEYTRUDA

Neoleukin Therapeutics, Inc., "Neoleukin" (NASDAQ:NLTX), a biopharmaceutical company utilizing sophisticated computational methods to design de novo protein therapeutics, today announced a clinical trial collaboration and supply agreement with Merck (known as MSD outside the United States and Canada). The agreement will allow for the evaluation of safety and efficacy of Neoleukin's NL-201, a de novo protein designed to mimic the therapeutic activity of natural cytokines IL-2 and IL-15, in combination with Merck's anti-PD-1 therapy KEYTRUDA(r) (pembrolizumab) in an ongoing Phase 1 trial.

Neoleukin will evaluate NL-201 plus pembrolizumab as part of the company's ongoing Phase 1 trial in patients with advanced, relapsed or refractory solid tumors. Up to 132 patients will be enrolled in the combination arm of the study. The trial is assessing safety, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, immunogenicity, and antitumor activity.

"Neoleukin is excited to collaborate with Merck, one of the world's leading immuno-oncology companies," said Priti Patel, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Neoleukin. "Our prior preclinical studies demonstrated that the combination of NL-201 and an anti-PD-1 antibody was well-tolerated and showed promising antitumor activity compared to either drug alone as monotherapy. We see this combination of drugs as having exciting potential to benefit patients with relapsed or refractory solid tumors in the future. This combination arm, alongside the NL-201 monotherapy arm of the NL-201-101 study, is a key component of our evolving NL-201 program."

KEYTRUDA(r) is a registered trademark of Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA.