Verastem partners with Amgen on VS-6766 and Lumakras combo in lung cancer

US cancer specialist Verastem Oncology (Nasdaq: VSTM) saw its shares briefly spike by as much as 29% Monday morning, after announcing a clinical collaboration agreement with biotech major Amgen (Nasdaq: AMGN) to evaluate the combination of VS-6766, Verastem’s investigational dual RAF/MEK inhibitor, with Amgen’s KRAS G12C inhibitor Lumakras (sotorasib) in KRAS G12C-mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

The Phase I/II trial will evaluate the safety, tolerability and efficacy of VS-6766 in combination with Lumakras in patients with KRAS G12C-mutant NSCLC who have not been previously treated with a KRAS G12C inhibitor as well as in patients who have progressed on a KRAS G12C inhibitor. The study will therefore investigate the potential benefits of a more complete vertical blockade of the RAS pathway with the combination of VS-6766 (RAF/MEK blockade) with Lumakras (G12C inhibition) in KRAS G12C-mutant locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC.