Merck ties up with French co to develop immuno-oncology pipeline

MUMBAI: German company, Merck announced it has entered into a collaboration and licensing agreement with Domain Therapeutics of France, to explore the potential of adenosine inhibition in the development of novel immuno-oncology agents.
"This new generation of adenosine receptor antagonists are an important addition to our immuno-oncology pipeline,” said Laszlo Radvanyi senior VP- head of research in immuno-oncology at the biopharma business of Merck.“We plan to explore the promise of adenosine receptor antagonists and develop novel compounds to potentially use in new combination immunotherapies for cancer.”
Adenosine receptor antagonists are small molecules thought to slow tumor progression and improve the response to combination immunotherapies by Inhibiting adenosine– a compound generated by cancer cells that inhibits anti-tumor responses by binding to T cells, says a company statement.
The agreement will involve a close collaboration between Merck and Domain Therapeutics to develop and test new agents targeting key adenosine receptors. Merck will support research activities and gain worldwide rights to Domain’s next generation of adenosine receptor inhibitors.