NEW YORK & SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY) and Calithera Biosciences, Inc. (Nasdaq:CALA), a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing novel small molecule drugs directed against tumor metabolism and tumor immunology targets for the treatment of cancer, today announced a clinical trial collaboration to evaluate Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Opdivo in combination with Calithera’s CB-839 in patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). CB-839 is an orally administered glutaminase inhibitor currently in Phase 1/2 clinical studies.
Preclinical data suggest that CB-839, which is designed to target a pathway to starve tumor cells of the key nutrient glutamine, may enhance the effects of checkpoint inhibitors and may also reverse tumor resistance to checkpoint inhibitors by altering the immune-suppressive microenvironment and promoting an anti-tumor immune response. Opdivo is designed to overcome immune suppression. The companies will explore the potential of combining these two agents with the goal of achieving improved and sustained efficacy in ccRCC patients with cancer that is stable or growing on a PD-1 inhibitor therapy.
Preclinical data suggest that CB-839, which is designed to target a pathway to starve tumor cells of the key nutrient glutamine, may enhance the effects of checkpoint inhibitors and may also reverse tumor resistance to checkpoint inhibitors by altering the immune-suppressive microenvironment and promoting an anti-tumor immune response. Opdivo is designed to overcome immune suppression. The companies will explore the potential of combining these two agents with the goal of achieving improved and sustained efficacy in ccRCC patients with cancer that is stable or growing on a PD-1 inhibitor therapy.
