Aduro BioTech, Inc., a clinical-stage immunotherapy company, has collaborated with Charles G Drake, Associate Professor of Oncology, Immunology and Urology at the Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Centre to evaluate the therapeutic approach of anti-PD-1 in combination with one or both of Aduro’s vaccine technologies based on live, attenuated Listeria monocytogenes and STING-activating adjuvants.

The collaboration will be supported in part by a recent grant award from the Melanoma Research Foundation to Dr Drake.

Blockade of PD-1 by a monoclonal antibody has shown promising efficacy in several phase I trials in multiple cancers, including melanoma. The collaboration and grant are based on the hypothesis that anti-PD-1 may be synergistic in combination with one or more of Aduro’s vaccine technologies for treating melanoma.

“We are excited to be collaborating with Dr Drake and to be expanding our vaccine approaches for melanoma,” said Thomas W Dubensky, chief scientific officer at Aduro. “We are already on the cutting edge of combination immunotherapy for cancer and adding anti-PD-1 provides the potential for additional synergy and efficacy.”

Aduro BioTech, Inc. is currently conducting a randomized, controlled phase II clinical trial in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer and a phase IB trial in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma. The company’s pipeline also includes preclinical programmes in glioblastoma, prostate cancer, melanoma, malaria, HBV and tularemia.