Adagene Announces Third Clinical Trial Collaboration with Merck to Evaluate ADG106 in Combination with KEYTRUDA®

SUZHOU, China, Aug. 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Adagene Inc. (the "Company" or "Adagene") (Nasdaq: ADAG), a platform-driven clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to discovering and developing novel cancer immunotherapies anchored by proprietary antibodies, today announced that it has entered into a third clinical trial collaboration and supply agreement with MSD (MSD is the company trademark of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, New Jersey, USA). Under the agreement, the parties will initiate an open-label, dose-escalation and expansion clinical trial (ADG106-P2001/KEYNOTE-D12) to evaluate the clinical efficacy of combining Adagene's ADG106 with MSD's anti-PD-1 therapy KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) in patients with advanced or metastatic solid and/or hematologic malignancies. Discovered via Adagene's proprietary NEObody™ (neo-epitope antibody) technology platform, ADG106 is a fully human ligand-blocking anti-CD137 IgG4 agonist monoclonal antibody (mAb). Existing Phase 1 clinical data for both monotherapy and combination therapies provide strong support for this collaboration.

“We are delighted to deepen our collaboration with MSD. The combination trial of ADG106 and KEYTRUDA® represents the third clinical collaboration between the two parties,” said Dr. Peizhi Luo, Co-founder, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Adagene. “PD-1 therapies have revolutionized cancer treatment; however, a significant number of patients with advanced metastatic solid tumors and hematologic malignancies remain unresponsive to these therapies or experience relapse following treatment, highlighting the continued need to expand the search for novel therapeutic options. ADG106 targets a unique and highly conserved antigenic epitope. Its novel mechanism of action and broad species cross-reactivity enable preclinical validation in immunocompetent animal models. In multiple syngeneic mouse tumor models, we observed that ADG106 and anti-PD-1/PD-L1 agents significantly potentiate each other’s antitumor efficacy.”

"We are very much looking forward to collaborating closely with MSD to further advance the combination trial of ADG106 and KEYTRUDA," said Steven Fischkoff, M.D., Acting Chief Medical Officer of Adagene.Dao，“Given its unique mechanism of action, extensive preclinical data, and existing robust clinical data, we believe that the combination of ADG106 with anti-PD-1 therapy represents an ideal treatment regimen, with the potential to provide new treatment options for cancer patients with unmet medical needs.”

KEYTRUDA® is a registered trademark of Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, New Jersey, U.S.A.。