Incyte has entered into a clinical trial agreement with Genentech to evaluate the safety, tolerability and preliminary efficacy of Incyte's oral indoleamine dioxygenase-1 (IDO1) inhibitor, INCB24360, in combination with Genentech's PD-L1 immune checkpoint inhibitor, MPDL3280A, in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Both INCB24360 and MPDL3280A are part of a new class of cancer treatments known as immunotherapies, designed to enhance the body's own defenses in fighting cancer; both agents target distinct regulatory components of the immune system.

Hervé Hoppenot, president and CEO of Incyte, said, "We believe the combination of INCB24360 with other novel immunotherapies represents a promising new approach to treating cancer, and research collaborations such as this have the potential to accelerate our understanding and support our goal of addressing the needs of patients with a wide range of cancers."

Incyte and Genentech will collaborate on a non-exclusive basis to evaluate the combination. Incyte will be responsible for conducting the study and the results will be used to determine whether further clinical development of this combination is warranted. Further details of the agreement have not been disclosed.