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Flare Therapeutics Announces Clinical Trial Collaboration and Supply Agreement with Merck to Evaluate FX-909 in Combination with KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) in New Cohort of Ongoing Phase 1 Trial in Metastatic Urothelial Cancer
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Oct. 21, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Flare Therapeutics Inc. (FlareTx), a clinical-stage biotechnology company targeting transcription factors to discover precision medicines for oncology and other therapeutic areas, today announced that it has entered into a clinical trial collaboration and supply agreement with Merck (known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada). FX-909, a first-in-class orally available small molecule inhibitor of PPARG, the master regulator of the lum
About this update from Merck & Company, Inc.
[{"type":"image","alt":"Flare Therapeutics Inc.","displaySize":"","headline":null,"caption":"Flare Therapeutics Inc.","className":"","disableSlideshowImg":false,"size":{"original":{"width":300,"height":107,"url":"https://media.zenfs.com/en/globenewswire.com/51f55fa500a09b2665c80a69ee62d4a3"},"resized":{"url":"https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/RSUry7COFpjtkXOn0oJt3A--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTQyMDtoPTE1MDtjZj13ZWJw/https://media.zenfs.com/en/globenewswire.com/51f55fa500a09b2665c80a69ee62d4a3","width":300,"height":107}},"lazy":false},{"type":"text","content":"CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Oct. 21, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Flare Therapeutics Inc. (FlareTx), a clinical-stage biotechnology company targeting transcription factors to discover precision medicines for oncology and other therapeutic areas, today announced that it has entered into a clinical trial collaboration and supply agreement with Merck (known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada). FX-909, a first-in-class orally available small molecule inhibitor of PPARG, the master regulator of the luminal lineage, will be evaluated in combination with KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab), Merck’s anti-PD-1 (programmed cell death receptor-1) therapy, in a new cohort within the company’s ongoing Phase 1 study in locally-advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer (UC).","length":757,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"text","content":"“FX-909 has achieved clinical proof of concept in the Phase 1A trial as a monotherapy, and we are very pleased to announce this agreement with Merck to add a combination arm to our ongoing Phase 1 study,” said Michaela Bowden, PhD, Chief Development Officer. “FX-909 directly targets luminal cancer cells along with driving immune modulation, inducing pro-inflammatory signaling and T-cell expansion in circulation. Combining FX-909 with an anti-PD-1 may provide a one-two punch to overcome IO resistance, opening the door to first-line treatment for advanced UC, earlier stages of disease, and other solid tumors in which PPARG actively drives immune evasion.”","length":661,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"text","content":"Under the terms of the supply agreement, Merck will provide its anti-PD-1 therapy KEYTRUDA to be used in combination with FX-909. The Phase 1 study combination cohort is expected to begin enrollment in the first quarter of 2026 and will investigate the safety, tolerability, immunologic effects and pre...