Singapore, Feb. 24 -- Japan-based Astellas Pharma and US-based startup Vir Biotechnology have entered into a global strategic collaboration to advance VIR-5500, an investigational PRO-XTEN(R) dual-masked CD3 T-cell engager (TCE) targeting PSMA for the treatment of prostate cancer.

The collaboration aims to accelerate the development of VIR-5500 and further strengthen Astellas' oncology pipeline and prostate cancer leadership.

Despite recent advances in treatment, prostate cancer, especially metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), remains an aggressive and difficult cancer to treat; mCRPC has a 5-year survival rate of approximately 30%.Patients who progress to mCRPC develop therapeutic resistance and currently have limit...