Jazz Pharmaceuticals has entered a research partnership with the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to assess Jazz’s zanidatamab for HER2-expressing cancers.
Under the five-year strategic agreement, the translational therapy and clinical research capabilities of MD Anderson will be merged with the cancer drug development expertise of Jazz.
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Jazz and MD Anderson will assess zanidatamab as a monotherapy and with other therapies for treating a number of stages and types of tumours.
The antibody will be evaluated in rare, tissue-agnostic cancers, in early-stage breast cancer patients, for ailments for which other HER2-directed medicines have not been effective and in cancers with different degrees of HER2-expression.
The parties will set up a joint steering committee to supervise the partnership, which will finance a number of studies for five years.
The companies plan to commence their research under the new deal in late 2023 or early 2024.
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By GlobalDataJazz and MD Anderson have previously collaborated on haematologic malignancies.
Zanidatamab is a bispecific antibody that targets HER2, and recently received breakthrough therapy status from the US Food and Drug Administration for previously treated HER2 gene-amplified biliary tract cancers.
Jazz Pharmaceuticals research and development global head and executive vice-president Rob Iannone stated: “We think zanidatamab has best-in-class potential as a bispecific antibody utilising biparatopic binding, which results in HER2 signal blockade, as well as immune-mediated cytotoxicity of HER2-expressing cancer cells.
“We look forward to continuing to collaborate with MD Anderson to further evaluate zanidatamab’s potential to be transformative to the current standard-of-care in multiple HER2-expressing cancers.”
In a Phase II HERIZON-BTC-01 trial, zanidatamab offered a 41% objective response rate and long-lasting responses in treatment-refractory HER2-amplified biliary tract cancer patients.
