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 The partnership between AstraZeneca's research and development arm
MedImmune and Juno is the latest collaboration between companies
intent on developing a new class of drugs known as immuno-oncology
therapies, considered a breakthrough in cancer treatment.
The past year has seen tie-ups between Eli Lilly and Co and Merck &
Co, Pfizer Inc and Germany's Merck KGaA, as well as Bristol-Myers
Squibb Co and Japan's Ono Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, among others.
Immuno-oncology drugs activate the immune system, allowing it to
recognize and destroy cancer cells.
This new wave of experimental cancer drugs, such as CAR-T therapies
that directly recruit the immune system's powerful T cells, are
proving to be effective against tumors and could soon take the $100
billion global market for drugs that fight cancer by storm.
Under the partnership, MedImmune and Juno will test a combination of
their drugs as a potential treatment for patients with non-Hodgkin
lymphoma — a type of lymph node cancer.
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The trials will be conducted with MedImmune's late-stage
immunotherapy drug, MEDI4736 and one of Juno's CAR-T cell therapy
candidates.
(Reporting by Amrutha Penumudi in Bengaluru; Editing by Simon
Jennings)
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