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Faron Announces Strategic Collaboration with The Institute for Cancer Research to Launch BLAZE Trial, Targeting Immunotherapy Resistance in Cancer
Investigator-initiated trial aims to provide proof-of-concept for bexmarilimab in overcoming acquired resistance to checkpoint inhibitors, a major challenge for most melanoma and lung cancer patients TURKU, FI / ACCESS Newswire / December 22, 2025 ...
About this update from Faron Pharmaceuticals Oy
[{"type":"text","content":"Investigator-initiated trial aims to provide proof-of-concept for bexmarilimab in overcoming acquired resistance to checkpoint inhibitors, a major challenge for most melanoma and lung cancer patients","length":199,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"text","content":"TURKU, FI / ACCESS Newswire / December 22, 2025 / Faron Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (AIM:ARN, First North:FARON)(HEL:FARON)(LSE:FARN), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, today announces the finalization of agreements to initiate the BLAZE trial, a new investigator-initiated trial (IIT) in the UK. The trial is conducted via a strategic collaboration with The Institute of Cancer Research, London (ICR), operating in partnership with The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. This collaboration leverages the world-class expertise of these globally recognized leaders in cancer research, innovation, and treatment.","length":614,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"text","content":"The Phase I/II BLAZE trial will investigate Faron's lead asset, bexmarilimab, in combination with the anti-PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor, zimberelimab provided by Gilead Sciences, for patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and melanoma who have developed resistance to prior anti-PD-1-based immunotherapy and progressed within three months of the last anti-PD-1 treatment. The trial will explore a novel approach by first priming patients with bexmarilimab monotherapy, followed by the combination of bexmarilimab and zimberelimab, aiming to resensitize the tumors back to anti-PD-1 treatment after disease progression.","length":640,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"text","content":"Dr. Anna Minchom, MD, BCh, MB, MRCP, Team Leader at The Institute of Cancer Research, London (ICR) and a Consultant Medical Oncologist at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and principal investigator of the trial said, "Resistance to immunotherapy remains a significant hurdle for many patients with lung cancer and melanoma. There is a strong scientific rationale that tumour-associated macrophages are key culprits in this process. By targeting them with bexmarilimab before re-introducing an anti-PD-1 treatment, we are testing a novel strategy to reverse this resistance. We look forward to gathering vital clinical and translational data from this study."","length":674,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"text","content":"Addressing a critic...