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SEOUL, South Korea--( BUSINESS WIRE )--The South Korean biotech company GI Innovation announced today that it has signed a clinical trial collaboration and supply agreement with MSD (a tradename of Merck& Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA) to evaluate the combination of GI-102 and MSD’s anti-PD-1 therapy, KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) in patients with immunotherapy-resistant liver cancer, melanoma, and renal cell carcinoma. This agreement marks GI Innovation’s second clinical trial collaboration with MSD, following a previous collaboration for GI-101A. The Phase 2 clinical trial including GI-102 in combination with KEYTRUDA will enroll patients with resistance or non-response to immuno-oncology treatments, leaving them with no further treatment options. GI Innovation is focused on three indications with significant market potential and potential likelihood of success: metastatic liver cancer, melanoma, and renal cell carcinoma. The company has already demonstrated strong anti-cancer efficacy with a 42.9% overall response rate (ORR) in a monotherapy trial of GI-102 in melanoma patients who failed to respond to standard-of-care treatment (3 partial responses out of 7 patients). Complete tumor regression was previously observed in 60% of mice treated with GI-102 monotherapy in a preclinical liver cancer model. Fourteen hospitals in South Korea and world-renowned sites in the U.S. have agreed to join the trial, including the Mayo Clinic (campuses in Rochester, Florida, and Arizona), Cleveland Clinic and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. In South Korea, the trial will take place at leading hospitals including Samsung Medical Center, Asan Medical Center, Seoul National University Hospital, Severance Hospital of Yonsei University, and St. Vincent’s Hospital. "We are pleased to enter into another clinical trial collaboration and supply agreement with MSD, a world leader in immuno-oncology. We aim to maximize the therapeutic value of GI-102 by combining it with KEYTRUDA, MSD’s anti-PD-1 therapy”, said Dr Myung-Ho Jang, GI Innovation’s Chief Scientific Officer. KEYTRUDA® is a registered trademark of Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway NJ, USA.