The former head of cancer drugmaker Seagen has joined a new startup involved in what’s recently become a competitive corner of oncology research.

前癌症药物制造商Seagen的负责人加入了一家新成立的公司，该公司最近成为肿瘤学研究的竞争角落。

The startup, Ottimo Pharma, emerged from stealth Monday with the backing of U.K. venture firm Medicxi and David Epstein as its chairman and CEO. It is developing a type of cancer drug that blocks two molecular pathways — PD-1 and VEGF — implicated in tumors’ ability to grow and evade detection from the immune system.

这家初创公司Ottimo Pharma在英国风险投资公司Medicxi和David Epstein的支持下于周一秘密成立。它正在开发一种抗癌药物，阻断两种分子途径-PD-1和VEGF-与肿瘤生长和逃避免疫系统检测的能力有关。

The company intends to ask regulators next year to begin its first clinical trial..

该公司打算明年要求监管机构开始其首次临床试验。。

The startup hasn’t said how much money it’s raised from investors so far or which tumors it intends to target. Nonetheless, its emergence, and Epstein’s involvement, is the latest sign of interest in a potential advance for cancer immunotherapy.

。尽管如此，它的出现以及爱泼斯坦的参与，是对癌症免疫治疗潜在进展感兴趣的最新迹象。

Drugs designed to stifle immune “checkpoints” like PD-1 have changed how dozens of cancers are treated since first coming to market over a decade ago. These drugs, like Merck & Co.’s Keytruda and Bristol Myers Squibb’s Opdivo, spur the immune system to fight tumors. When they work well, they can significantly extend lives of people with advanced cancers.

。这些药物，如默克公司的Keytruda和百时美施贵宝的Opdivo，刺激免疫系统对抗肿瘤。当它们工作良好时，它们可以显着延长晚期癌症患者的寿命。

But the majority of people don’t durably respond to treatment, leading drugmakers to search for combinations that can boost immunotherapy’s effects..

但大多数人对治疗没有持久的反应，导致制药商寻找可以提高免疫疗法效果的组合。。

That hunt has yielded mixed results. Outside of chemotherapy, many drugs tested in immunotherapy pairings have failed to outperform immunotherapies alone in clinical testing.

那次狩猎取得了喜忧参半的结果。除化疗外，许多在免疫疗法配对中测试的药物在临床测试中未能优于单独的免疫疗法。

One approach that could be different is a single therapy designed to block both PD-1 and VEGF. This year, a drug discovered by China-based Akeso and co-developed by biotechnology company Summit Therapeutics significantly outperformed Keytruda in a late-stage trial in lung cancer.

一种可能不同的方法是设计用于阻断PD-1和VEGF的单一疗法。今年，总部位于中国的Akeso发现了一种药物，该药物由生物技术公司Summit Therapeutics联合开发，在肺癌的晚期试验中表现明显优于Keytruda。

While that trial took place only in China and likely won’t support a U.S. approval, the result has still sparked interest in developers of other, similar types of medicines. BioNTech, Instil Bio and a few startups have drugs in the works. Ottimo’s drug, a bi-functional antibody called jankistomig, targets PD-1 and the protein receptor VEGFR2.

虽然该试验仅在中国进行，可能不支持美国的批准，但结果仍引发了其他类似药物开发商的兴趣。BioNTech、Instil Bio和一些初创公司正在开发药物。Ottimo的药物是一种称为jankistomig的双功能抗体，靶向PD-1和蛋白质受体VEGFR2。

The company says targeting that specific receptor should minimize side effects related to VEGF inhibition, which are associated with hypertension and increased levels of protein in the urine..

该公司表示，针对特定受体应该最大程度地减少与VEGF抑制相关的副作用，VEGF抑制与高血压和尿液中蛋白质水平升高有关。。

“This new medicine is exquisitely designed and offers large potential benefits to patients across a wide range of solid tumors,” said Epstein, in a statement. “It will be exciting to scale the team and deliver on the promise to patients.'

爱泼斯坦在一份声明中说：“这种新药设计精巧，为各种实体瘤患者提供了巨大的潜在益处。”。“扩大团队规模并兑现对患者的承诺将是令人兴奋的。”

Epstein will take on that task after a short stint as the CEO of Seagen, a cancer drugmaker Pfizer acquired for $43 billion last year. Prior to that, Epstein had spent more than two decades in executive roles at Novartis and then another five years advising and building startup companies at Flagship Pioneering..

爱泼斯坦（Epstein）在担任希根（Seagen）首席执行官一段时间后将承担这项任务。希根是辉瑞（Pfizer）去年斥资430亿美元收购的一家癌症药物制造商。在此之前，爱泼斯坦（Epstein）曾在诺华（Novartis）担任高管20多年，然后又在旗舰创业公司（Flagship Expandative）担任了5年的咨询和创业公司建设工作。。

Former Boehringer Ingelheim Chief Medical Officer Mehdi Shahidi also joined the startup as head of development and CMO. James Sabry, a longtime dealmaking executive at Roche who retired earlier this year, is Ottimo’s vice chairman.

前勃林格殷格翰首席医疗官梅赫迪·沙希迪（MehdiShahidi）也加入了这家初创公司，担任开发和CMO负责人。詹姆斯·萨布里（JamesSabry）是罗氏（Roche）的一位长期交易执行官，今年早些时候退休，他是奥蒂莫（Ottimo）的副主席。

Ottimo’s drug “has the potential to change the face of cancer immunotherapy,” Sabry said in a statement.

萨布里在一份声明中说，奥蒂莫的药物“有可能改变癌症免疫疗法的面貌”。