On August 26, 2014 BeiGene reported that it has dosed the first patient in a Phase 1 study of BGB-3111 for the treatment of cancer (Press release BeiGene, AUG 26, 2014, View Source [SID:1234501202]). BGB-3111 is an investigational, oral, highly selective and potent inhibitor of Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK), a critical component of B-cell receptor (BCR) signaling which plays an important role in B-cell malignancies.
"We are excited to begin this first-in-human trial of BGB-3111, which we feel has the potential to be a best-in-class BTK inhibitor based on our preclinical results to date," said Dr. Jason Yang, Senior Vice President and Head of Clinical Development at BeiGene. "With the strong support of our experienced team of investigators, we look forward to conducting this study and assessing dosing, PK and safety results, with the potential for early anti-tumor activity as we move toward the trial’s expansion phase later this year."
The Phase 1a dose escalation portion of study will be conducted at 4 Australian sites, followed by a 1b expansion phase which will enroll disease-specific cohorts at the maximally-tolerated or biologically-relevant dose. BeiGene currently expects to finish the dose escalation portion in the second quarter of 2015, with data readout for the expansion stage expected by the end of 2015 or beginning of 2016.
"I am very pleased to be involved in the clinical development of this exciting new anti-cancer drug," commented Dr. Constantine Tam, lead investigator for the trial at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne. "BTK inhibitors have demonstrated impressive clinical activity in several B-cell malignancies, and BGB-3111 shows the potential for significant advantages over previous BTK inhibitors in preclinical studies. We hope these advantages will continue to translate into a stronger activity and safety profile as BGB-3111 advances through the clinic."
"We have continued to rapidly accelerate our research development plan, with three promising candidates against different targets entering the clinic within the past 9 months," commented John V. Oyler, CEO of BeiGene. "As our first wholly-owned program to enter clinical studies, BGB-3111 is yet another validation of our novel translational research platform and a reflection of our ability to execute on significant
clinical milestones – both on our lead partnered programs and our proprietary compounds. We look forward to advancing our additional promising preclinical candidates in the months ahead, and expect to bring up to several new small molecules/biologics into the clinic within the next year."
BeiGene is currently investigating two other small molecule inhibitors in clinical development as part of a strategic partnership with Merck Serono: BGB-283, a second-generation B-RAF inhibitor which entered a Phase 1 study in November 2013; and BGB-290, a PARP inhibitor which entered a Phase 1 study in July 2014.

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