Genmab, Incyte team up to develop experimental colorectal cancer treatment
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Genmab (GMAB) and Incyte (INCY) announced a clinical trial collaboration to evaluate a combination of their experimental cancer drugs alongside chemotherapy as a potential first-line treatment for patients with advanced colorectal cancer carrying a specific genetic mutation.
The companies will study Genmab's petosemtamab and Incyte's INCB161734 in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, meaning cancer that has spread beyond the colon or rectum. The treatment will target tumors carrying a mutation known as KRAS G12D, a genetic alteration that can drive uncontrolled cancer cell growth.
For investors, the collaboration offers both companies an opportunity to expand their cancer drug pipelines into a difficult-to-treat disease with substantial unmet medical needs. The combination could eventually provide a new treatment option for patients with KRAS G12D mutations, although its effectiveness and safety remain unproven. The early-stage trial will help determine whether the drugs warrant further development.
Petosemtamab is a bispecific antibody, an engineered protein designed to attach to two different targets on cancer cells. It targets EGFR, a protein involved in cell growth, and LGR5, a protein associated with certain cancer cells, including cells believed to help tumors regenerate. Incyte's INCB161734 is designed to block the abnormal KRAS G12D protein that promotes tumor growth. Combining the drugs with chemotherapy could potentially attack cancer through several biological pathways simultaneously.
KRAS mutations occur in approximately 40% of colorectal cancers, with G12D the most common type, according to the companies. Genmab will conduct the Phase 1/2 clinical trial, while Incyte will share the study's costs and supply its experimental drug. The companies did not disclose financial terms or a timeline for reporting results.
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