Arcus Biosciences, Inc. (NYSE: RCUS), a global biopharmaceutical company in the clinical stage, focused on developing innovative molecules and combination therapies for cancer patients, has announced a new collaboration with AstraZeneca (LSE/STO/Nasdaq: AZN). The partnership aims to evaluate the combination of casdatifan (AB521), Arcus’s investigational HIF-2a inhibitor, with AstraZeneca’s investigational PD-1/CTLA-4 bispecific antibody, volrustomig, in patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC).
“Casdatifan has shown best-in-class potential based on its pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics profile and promising data from our ARC-20 study in ccRCC patients,” said Terry Rosen, Ph.D., CEO of Arcus. “This collaboration with AstraZeneca will allow us to explore whether combining casdatifan with volrustomig can lead to improved outcomes for ccRCC patients.”
Cristian Massacesi, Chief Medical Officer and Oncology Chief Development Officer at AstraZeneca, added: “Renal cell carcinoma is known to respond to CTLA-4 targeting, and our early clinical trials with volrustomig monotherapy have shown encouraging efficacy in first-line advanced ccRCC. We are eager to see how combining it with HIF-2a inhibition can deliver deeper and longer-lasting responses for patients.”
As part of this collaboration, AstraZeneca will lead a study to assess the safety and initial efficacy of the casdatifan and volrustomig combination in advanced ccRCC patients.
This marks the second collaboration between Arcus and AstraZeneca. In 2020, the two companies partnered on the PACIFIC-8 study, a Phase 3 trial of domvanalimab, an Fc-silent anti-TIGIT antibody, in combination with AstraZeneca’s anti-PD-L1 antibody, durvalumab, for patients with unresectable Stage III non-small cell lung cancer.
Under Arcus’s existing agreement with Gilead, Gilead retains the right to opt-in for the development and commercialization of casdatifan following the delivery of a qualifying data package by Arcus.
