Curis, Inc. announced that it has entered into an investigator-initiated clinical trial agreement with the University of Florida to study the combination of emavusertib and pembrolizumab in patients with metastatic melanoma. Curis is responsible for supply of emavusertib. Merck is responsible for supply of pembrolizumab and clinical study costs.

Both companies retain 100% of the commercial rights to their respective programs. This announcement builds on the preclinical findings recently published for this combination by researchers at the University of Florida who, with the University of Chicago, will be the initial clinical investigators for this study.