Daiichi Sankyo

The Phase II study will assess the antibody-drug conjugate patritumab deruxtecan for previously treated colorectal cancer patients expressing varying levels of HER3.

The drug giant will be responsible for globally developing and commercializing the compound, called Erso, currently in preclinical development.

The global license extends to all indications under evaluation, though Rain will focus on exploring the activity of milademetan in MDM2-amplified or -overexpressing cancers.

The companies will collaborate on a trial evaluating the HER3-targeted antibody drug conjugate patritumab deruxtecan in combiantion with AstraZeneca's Tagrisso.

The companies will jointly develop and commercialize DS-1062 worldwide, sharing in the development costs and the profits, but Daiichi Sankyo will maintain exclusive rights in Japan.

The multi-year collaboration will study a lung and breast cancer drug in adaptive Phase II trials, which will allow for the exploration of biomarkers of response and resistance.

Enhertu, or trastuzumab deruxtecan, will also receive accelerated assessment by the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use.

After DS-1062 demonstrated encouraging activity in lung cancer, the firm decided to add a cohort of TNBC patients whose tumors express TROP2.

The assay will identify patients with mutations in HER2 who may be eligible for treatment with a HER2-directed antibody-drug-conjugate developed by Daiichi.

The Phase II DESTINY-CRC01 and DESTINY-Gastric01 underscore the importance of HER2 testing in patients with colorectal cancers and gastric cancers, respectively.