Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase α (PI3Kα) (H1047R mutant) inhibitors are described in a Relay Therapeutics Inc. patent as potentially useful for the treatment of cancer, particularly, breast and ovarian cancer.
An already-intrigued Wall Street appreciated Relay Therapeutics Inc.’s Jan. 10 update during the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference (JPM), where the company detailed progress across its development efforts, including those with RLY-4008, an oral small-molecule inhibitor of fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2), in the works for patients with FGFR2-altered cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) and other cancers. Shares of the Cambridge, Mass.-based firm (NASDAQ:RLAY) ran up by about 38%, or $6, in the five days ahead of Jan. 13. The stock closed Jan. 17 at $20.45, down 32 cents.
Tyra Biosciences Inc.’s recent deal with Xcures Inc. drew more attention to the already popular FGFR inhibitor space in oncology, as the pair made known a collaboration on a real-world biomarker study involving patients with FGFR-mutant bladder cancer who are given once-daily, oral Balversa (erdafitinib, Johnson & Johnson), a pan-FGFR blocker approved in April 2019.
A lack of toxicity and the shrinking of tumors were at the heart of new interim data produced from a two-stage phase II study by Relay Therapeutics Inc. The company reported that the oral small molecule RLY-4008, designed to elicit responses across a broad spectrum of resistance mutations and in multiple tumor types, selectively inhibited fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) 2 in ways that are not limited by off-target toxicities of hyperphosphatemia (FGFR1) and diarrhea (FGFR4).
Cambridge, Mass.-based Relay Therapeutics Inc. has signed a lucrative worldwide license and collaboration agreement with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, for the development and commercialization of its compound, RLY-1971, a potent inhibitor of Src homology region 2 domain-containing phosphatase-2 (SHP2) that is being investigated in a phase I dose-escalation study in patients with advanced or metastatic solid tumors.
The biopharmaceutical sector welcomed a further 11 new IPO graduates in July, bringing the number to 39 that have started to trade on the U.S. markets this year. The companies going public last month collectively raised more than $2.5 billion and most of them made a favorable impression following their first day of trading, with the group increasing their share values by an average of 16%.
Robust financial markets continue to fuel the industry despite gloom over the COVID-19 pandemic, with Relay Therapeutics Inc. pricing its upsized, 20 million-share IPO at $20 per unit to reap $400 million.
