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news.Roche's subsidiary Genentech and biopharmaceutical firm Epizyme will collaborate on a phase 1b clinical trial to evaluate the combination of tazemetostat and Tecentriq for the treatment of relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).
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As per the terms of the collaboration deal, the companies will supply their respective products and equally share the trial costs.
Genentech will manage the trial, which expects to start patient enrollment in the second half of this year.
Epizyme is developing tazemetostat, which inhibits an enzyme called EZH2 (enhancer of zeste homolog 2).
It is indicated to treat patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and several genetically defined solid tumors.
Genentech’s Tecentriq (Atezolizumab) is a monoclonal antibody designed to bind with PD-L1 protein.
By inhibiting PD-L1, atezolizumab may enable the activation of T cells. Tecentriq may also affect normal cells.
Last month, the US Food and Drug Administration approved Tecentriq to treatment a type of bladder cancer called urothelial carcinoma.
Under their collaboration, Epizyme and Genentech aim to generate clinical proof-of-concept for the combination, building on tazemetostat’s activity as a monotherapy in a phase 1 trial of NHL and preclinical observations that EZH2 inhibition could have an effect on the immune system and enhance the checkpoint inhibitors activity.
Epizyme chief medical officer Peter Ho said: "We look forward to evaluating this combination in patients with DLBCL, and to exploring the potential to expand the therapeutic opportunities for tazemetostat, as well as Tecentriq."
Image: Genentech building in South San Francisco, USA. Photo: courtesy of F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd.