Biotech giant Amgen recently announced that it has developed a strategic tumor immunology  cooperation with Merck, which is another giant in the field of immunotherapy. The partners will jointly launch a Ib / III study to investigate the potential of Amgen BiTE immunotherapy Blincyto (blinatumomab) combined with Merck PD-1 immunotherapy Keytruda (pembrolizumab) for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL)l, which is the most common type of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). The study is an open-label, multicenter, randomized  and controlled study designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the combination therapy for DLBCL.

In addition, the partners also announced another tumor immunology cooperation. They will conduct a phase I / II study to investigate the anti-colony stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF1R) monoclonal antibody AMG 820, which Amgen is now developing, jointly with Keytruda for specific advanced solid tumors, including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), colon and pancreatic cancer.

The three kinds of immunotherapy in their cooperation have three different ways to regulate the immune system respectively. And combing different immune therapy with medication is not only a kind of important method to overcome the complicated variety of many tumors , but also the trend in recent years of the development of tumor immunology. Amgen and Merck say the partnership is an important step in further digging their own potential of immunotherapy clinical treatment. And the partners expect that these new combination regimen can bring new treatment options and hope to different kinds of cancer patients.