Incyte, Merck expand IDO1/PD-1 combo plans

Incyte Corp. (NASDAQ:INCY) and Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE:MRK) expanded their Phase III development plan for epacadostat (INCB024360) plus Keytruda pembrolizumab. This year, the companies plan to begin pivotal studies of the combo to treat non-small lung cancer (NSCLC), renal cell carcinoma (RCC), bladder cancer and squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN).

The partners are already conducting ECHO-301, a Phase III trial of the combo as a first-line treatment for melanoma, as well as ECHO-202, a Phase I/II study evaluating the combo in multiple cancers. Epacadostat is an indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) inhibitor. Keytruda is a mAb against PD-1...