Celgene, AstraZeneca start Fusion clinical development program in immuno-oncology

The program is part of a collaboration between AstraZeneca and its worldwide biologics research and development unit MedImmune.

It is intended at developing and commercializing durvalumab across various blood cancers including non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, myelodysplastic syndromes and multiple myeloma.

The program will begin with four studies of durvalumab and combination therapies in several hematologic disorders.

Durvalumab is an investigational human monoclonal antibody directed against programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1).

Durvalumab, which blocks signals from PD-L1, has not been approved for any use.

AstraZeneca global medicines development senior vice president, head of immuno-oncology Robert Iannone said: "Durvalumab is a highly promising investigational immunotherapy for a range of tumour types and we look forward to exploring its potential as a PD-L1 inhibitor for patients with blood cancers, for whom current treatment choices are limited."

The Celgene collaboration with AstraZeneca is part of its commitment to immuno-oncology that includes clinical-stage checkpoint inhibitors and t-cell activators, and earlier stage research efforts.

Celgene immuno-oncology senior vice president Robert Hershberg said: "Checkpoint inhibitors hold tremendous promise in the treatment of cancer and we believe Celgene’s deep experience in hematology allows us unique perspective on this growing area of clinical research."

Image: The Fusion clinical development program is part of a collaboration between AstraZeneca and its global biologics research and development unit MedImmune. Photo: courtesy of AstraZeneca.