Merck, AstraZeneca Plan Cancer Drug Combo

Updated from 1:13 a.m. EDT

Merck(MRK Quote) and AstraZeneca(AZN Quote) announced Monday a collaboration to research a combination anticancer regimen made up of two investigational compounds.

In a statement Monday, the companies said preclinical evidence indicates that combined administration of these compounds could "enhance their anticancer properties."

Merck and AstraZeneca said it's the first time that two large pharmaceutical companies have established a collaboration to evaluate the potential for combining candidate molecules at such an early stage of development. Such combinations, the companies said, generally only would be studied when one or both of the drugs has entered late-stage development or received marketing approval. ...