On January 30, 2020 FORMA Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on rare hematologic diseases and cancers, reported the achievement of clinical development milestones for two of its exclusively-licensed, clinical-stage products to Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMS) (NYSE:BMY) (Press release, Forma Therapeutics, JAN 30, 2020, View Source [SID1234553692]).
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BI initiated a Phase 1 clinical trial for BI 1701963, a SOS1:KRAS inhibitor discovered in a partnership with FORMA that targets protein-protein interactions for the treatment of cancer. KRAS mutations occur in one in seven of all human metastatic cancers, making it the most frequently mutated cancer-causing oncogene. The selective inhibition of SOS1 is a therapeutic concept that could allow KRAS blockade irrespective of KRAS mutation type. In 2011, BI 1701963 was exclusively licensed to Boehringer Ingelheim, who is leading the program’s development. Financial terms are undisclosed. Preclinical data regarding the discovery and development of BI 1701963 was presented by BI at the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper)-NCI-EORTC AACR-NCI-EORTC (Free AACR-NCI-EORTC Whitepaper) International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics (EORTC-NCI-AACR) (Free ASGCT Whitepaper) (Free EORTC-NCI-AACR Whitepaper) in October 2019.
BMS initiated an open-label, Phase 1B dose-escalation and expansion study to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of CC-95775 (formerly FT-1101) in patients with advanced or unresectable solid tumors. CC-95775 is a pan-BET bromodomain inhibitor that was discovered under a partnership between FORMA and Celgene and exclusively licensed to Celgene in 2018. BMS is responsible for further development, and FORMA is eligible to receive potential milestone payments plus royalties for this and another asset based upon development, regulatory and sales objectives. FORMA recently presented data from a Phase 1 study of CC-95775 as a single agent in patients with relapsed or refractory hematologic malignancies at the 2019 American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) Annual Meeting (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper).
Frank Lee, CEO of FORMA said, "FORMA has a deep history of collaboration, and I’m excited about the achievement of these clinical milestones announced today. Our partnership with BI was among the early drug discovery initiatives focused on difficult-to-drug protein-protein interactions in cancer. We are gratified to see this pan-KRAS inhibitor, which BI licensed following early discovery work by FORMA, advance into the clinic and potentially offer a much-needed new therapy for patients with limited treatment options."
"In addition, our broad, multi-year collaboration with Celgene, since acquired by BMS, has yielded several novel candidates and valuable intellectual property, which is reflected in BMS’ and FORMA’s development pipelines. We are pleased to see the pan-BET inhibitor CC-95775 continue to advance in clinical studies with the potential to benefit patients with unresectable solid tumors," Mr. Lee concludes.