NiKang Therapeutics Inc,a clinical-stage biotech company based near Wilmington, and Aveo Oncology, Boston, announced a clinical trial collaboration and supply agreement to evaluate NiKangs’s NKT2152, a cancer drug candidate when combined with Aveo’s drug Fotivda (tivozanib).
Aveo’s drug has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of adults with relapsed or refractory advanced renal cell carcinoma (a form of kidney cancer) following two or more prior etherapies.
The Phase 2 clinical trial will evaluate the safety and efficacy of the combination of NKT2152 and tivozanib in patients who have not responded to or relapsed from prior therapies Under the terms of the agreement, NiKang will sponsor the trial and Aveo will co-fund the trial. Both companies will provide their respective drugs at no cost. The two companies will form a Joint Development Committee to oversee this collaboration.
“Preclinical and early clinical data have demonstrated enhanced anti-tumor activity by the combination of HIF2α and VEGFR inhibition. Given tivozanib’s established excellent clinical profile, we are excited to work with Aveo to explore such opportunity,” said Zhenhai Gao, Ph.D., co-founder, CEO of NiKang. “We look forward to collaborating with our partners to further advance NKT2152 into its next stage of development as part of our combination strategy. This clinical collaboration with AVEO is an excellent example of pooling expertise and resources together to maximize the potential of both NKT2152 and tivozanib in helping R/R ccRCC patients.”
The phase 2 clinical trial is expected to get underway in 2022.
