“Phanes is very excited about partnering with Merck on this novel approach to treat patients with gastric or gastroesophageal cancers,” said Dr. Ming Wang, Founder and CEO of Phanes. “Claudin 18.2 is a clinically validated target and is over-expressed in these types of GI tumors. We believe the mechanisms of PT886 and pembrolizumab are complementary and the combination has the potential to improve outcomes for patients.  This collaboration marks another milestone for Phanes in fulfilling our vision of developing innovative approaches to treat cancer.”