Ideaya Biosciences (NASDAQ:IDYA) said it started enrollment in a phase 2 trial of darovasertib as monotherapy in neo-adjuvant and adjuvant settings in patients with primary, non-metastatic uveal melanoma (UM).

UM is a type of eye cancer.

In one group patients with large tumors will be treated with darovasertib until maximum benefit or six months, after which they will undergo a primary interventional treatment. The goal for this group is eye preservation – e.g., a patient who would otherwise have undergone enucleation is instead eligible for radiation treatment.

In another group, patients with small or medium tumors will be treated with darovasertib until maximum benefit or six months, after which they will undergo radiation therapy. The goal for this group include (i) reducing the radiation dose that the patient received, relative to the dose they would have received without the neoadjuvant therapy, and (ii) functional vision preservation.

Each group will include up to six months of follow-up adjuvant therapy after the primary interventional treatment to evaluate relapse-free survival and useful vision, the company added.

“The primary tumor shrinkage we are observing from just a single month of therapy in our investigator-sponsored NADOM study is very promising. We are looking forward to seeing even greater benefits in the IDEAYA-sponsored Phase 2 study where the protocol provides for neoadjuvant treatment to maximum response,” said Anthony Joshua, head Department of Medical Oncology, Kinghorn Cancer Centre, St. Vincent’s Hospital Sydney.

In addition, Ideaya is also evaluating darovasertib in combination with crizotinib in patients with metastatic uveal melanoma (MUM) in a phase 2 trial. The expects a clinical data update on the combo therapy in 2023, including overall survival data.

SA contributor analysis: Ideaya Biosciences: Advancing Pipeline, Further Evidence Needed For Immediate Entry