Amgen and Versatem Oncology have announced a new clinical collaboration agreement to evaluate a combination treatment in KRAS G12C-mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Under the agreement, the companies will evaluate the combination of Verastem’s investigational dual RAF/MEK inhibitor VS-6766 with Amgen’s KRAS G12C inhibitor Lumykras (sotorasib) in these patients.
A Phase I/II trial will evaluate the safety, tolerability and efficacy of the combination treatment in patients with KRAS G12C-mutant NSCLC who have not been previously treated with a KRAS G12C inhibitor, or in patients who have progressed on such a treatment.
The study is aiming to investigate the potential benefit of a ‘more complete vertical blockade’ of the RAS pathway with the combination of the two therapies.
“Recent data indicate that acquired resistance to KRAS G12C inhibitors in patients occurs predominantly through additional mutations in the RAS pathway, many of which may be addressed with a downstream inhibitor such as VS-6766,” said Ramaswamy Govindan, professor, Department of Medicine, Oncology Division at Washington University School of Medicine and lead investigator of the study.
“This clinical study of VS-6766 and [Lumykras] will build on preclinical data showing synergy between these two agents, including tumour regression through deeper blockade of ERK pathway signalling,” he added.
