- Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) and Roche (OTCQX:RHHBY) collaborate on a Phase 1b study to assess the former's talimogene laherparepvec (T-Vec) in combination with the latter's MPDL3280A (atezolizumab) in patients with triple-negative breast cancer and colorectal cancer with liver metastases. The partnership is another example of the rationale that combining immunotherapies with different mechanisms of action may be more effective in treating certain cancers.
- T-Vec is an investigational oncolytic immunotherapy that works in two ways. First, it is injected into tumors where it replicates inside tumor cells causing them to rupture and die in a process called lysis. The ruptured cells then release tumor-derived antigens, along with a white blood cell growth factor called GM-CSF (granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor) that can stimulate a system-wide immune response.
- Atezolizumab is an investigational monoclonal antibody that binds to PD-L1 (programmed death-ligand 1), a protein found on the surface of cancer cells that enable them to avoid detection by the immune system.. Binding to the protein enables T cells to recognize and kill cancer cells.