Chong Kun Dang Pharm (CKD Pharm) has presented data on their c-Met-targeting antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) CKD-703 for the treatment of solid tumors. CKD-703 was designed based on site-specific conjugation, with a stable and homogeneous drug-antibody ratio profile.
Amidst a slew of end-of-week, positive EMA Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) opinions is Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.’s Fruzaqla (fruquintinib). The selective inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptors-1, -2 and -3 is for adults with previously treated metastatic colorectal cancer.
The existence of two approved therapies, Lumakras (sotorasib, Amgen Inc.) and Karzati (adagrasib, Mirati Therapeutics Inc.), has been a triumphant success against KRAS, a protein that was once considered undruggable.
The existence of two approved therapies, Lumakras (sotorasib, Amgen Inc.) and Karzati (adagrasib, Mirati Therapeutics Inc.), has been a triumphant success against KRAS, a protein that was once considered undruggable. KRAS is the most frequently mutated oncogene in solid tumors. KRAS driver mutations are found in about 30% of non-small-cell lung cancers (NSCLC), about half of colorectal cancers, and more than 90% of pancreatic cancers. Lumakras and Karzati both target the G12C mutation. Inhibitors that target other mutations, like G12D, are now making their way through preclinical and clinical development, while some companies are developing therapies that would target mutated KRAS more broadly, irrespective of the specific mutation that is activating the protein.
Despite GTPase KRAS being the most common mutated oncogene in human cancers, there is still an unmet medical need for treating KRAS G12C-mutated cancers.
Mutations in GTPase KRAS occur in about 25% of human cancers, with the KRAS G12V mutation being one of the most frequent variants, and lead to activation of the MAPK pathway, thus promoting tumorigenesis.
Top-line data from the phase II Kickstart study of Effector Therapeutics Inc.’s tomivosertib as a frontline treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer failed to produce data strong enough to continue development in the indication. The company has decided to halt the study, move ahead with a separate, investigator-sponsored study of tomivosertib in acute myeloid leukemia and focus on another drug in its pipeline for treating breast cancer. Effector’s stock (NASDAQ:EFTR) crumpled on the NCSLC news as shares plunged 82% on April 4 to close at $2.96 each. The closing value was the lowest the company has seen in the past 12 months.
Alterome Therapeutics Inc. has closed a $132 million series B financing to support the advancement of its pipeline of next-generation, small-molecule targeted cancer therapies into the clinic, including a highly specific AKT1 E17K inhibitor and a KRAS selective inhibitor.
Nuvation Bio Inc. said on March 25 it will acquire Anheart Therapeutics Ltd., a U.S.- and China-based precision oncology company, in an all-stock transaction, adding Anheart’s ROS1-inhibiting lung cancer drug, taletrectinib (AB-106), to its pipeline.
Iambic Therapeutics Inc. has described HER2 (erbB2) and HER2 (exon 20 insertion [Ex20Ins] [Ala775_Gly776insTyrValMetAla]) mutant inhibitors reported to be useful for the treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
