MedPacto, University of California San Francisco (UCSF), and MSD have teamed up to conduct investigator-initiated clinical trials to develop therapies for colon cancer.

Professor Chloe Atreya at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center will lead the study to check the efficacy of Vactosertib combined with MSD’s Keytruda as neoadjuvant and adjuvant therapy for colon cancer patients. MedPacto will provide Vactosertib and MSD will supply Keytruda and the cost for clinical trials, according to the Korean company Monday.

Neoadjuvant therapy is given as a first step to reduce a tumor before surgery and allow resection, protecting the inner organs. Then, adjuvants are used to prevent cancer metastasis or recurrence through postsurgical chemotherapy.

MSD’s Keytruda received approval as an adjuvant treatment from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for melanoma in the previous year. In addition, the company is conducting phase 2 clinical trials of combo therapy of Keytruda and Vactosertib with MedPacto to treat colon cancer patients.

MedPacto also presented its interim results of phase 1 and 2 studies showing a median overall survival (MOS) of 15.8 months at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting in June, redoubling its MOS that of the existing standard therapies.

Based on the study results presented at the meeting, MSD agreed to collaborate with MedPacto to run phase 3 clinical trials for colon cancer.

MedPacto expects the treatment to receive authorization as adjuvant therapy for colon cancer if the study shows significant outcomes.

According to Grand View Research, a market researching firm, the global market of drugs for colon cancer totaled about $8.6 billion in 2016 and is expected to grow to $10.8 billion in 2022.