On October 7, 2024 Galecto, Inc. (NASDAQ: GLTO), a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of novel treatments for cancer and fibrosis, reported that, following an intensive strategic review process, Galecto has determined to focus on cancer and liver disease, leveraging its existing clinical stage asset GB1211, which has shown positive results in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and decompensated cirrhosis clinical studies (Press release, Galecto Biotech, OCT 7, 2024, View Source [SID1234647053]). Galecto further announced that it has bolstered its pipeline with the acquisition of the global rights to BRM-1420, a novel, first-in-class asset developed by Bridge Medicines, a company co-founded by Takeda.
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"Our strategic review process concluded that our best opportunity for building value and changing the lives for patients with severe diseases was to focus on our existing clinical stage compound GB1211 and increase our chance for success by acquiring complementary assets. The addition of BRM-1420 represents a significant advancement in our mission to develop and deliver breakthrough treatments for oncology and liver conditions," said Dr. Hans Schambye, CEO of Galecto. "We are particularly optimistic about BRM-1420’s potential to address challenging genetic subsets of AML and its observed synergistic effects with standard-of-care therapies and menin inhibitors."
"AML is the most common acute leukemia in adults, yet despite available treatments, patient prognosis remains poor with significant unmet needs," said Miles Gerson, Head of Takeda Ventures and Takeda’s Representative to Bridge Medicines. "Bridge Medicines has made considerable progress in recent years developing this new class of drugs and Galecto’s team is well positioned to continue advancing BRM-1420."
As consideration for the acquisition of the global rights of BRM-1420, Galecto issued 62,594 shares of common stock to Bridge Medicines, representing 4.99% of the outstanding shares of Galecto’s common stock as of the date of the asset purchase, and 160.562 shares of a newly-issued Series A preferred stock convertible into 160,562 shares of common stock, or approximately 12.8% of Galecto’s common stock, upon receipt of stockholder approval.
Matthew Kronmiller, Bridge Medicine’s Chief Executive Officer, will be joining Galecto’s management team as the Executive Vice President of Strategy and Chief Business Officer. The transaction was approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies.
Leerink Partners served as the exclusive financial advisor to Galecto and Lazard served as exclusive financial advisor to Bridge Medicines. Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. is serving as legal counsel to Galecto. Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian, LLP is serving as legal counsel to Bridge Medicines.
About BRM-1420
BRM-1420 is a potent and selective ENL-YEATS and FLT3 inhibitor of multiple genetic subsets of AML. It disrupts key oncogenic pathways by inhibiting these domains, showing potent activity in MLLr and NPM1c cell lines. Promising preclinical and in vivo results highlight its efficacy in inhibiting leukemia cell growth and extending survival in AML models. In animal models, BRM-1420 exhibited superior efficacy to both FLT3 and menin inhibitors and was shown to inhibit cell proliferation in primary AML patient samples across multiple genotypes, including MLL-r, NPM1m, cKIT+, FLT3+, TET2+, and TP53+. These mutations are often seen in AML and, in total, could account for greater than 30% of the AML patient population. Many of these mutations have proven difficult to treat with currently available regimens and therefore represent a significant unmet medical need. The Company believes, based on preclinical data, that BRM-1420 could be additive or synergistic when used in combination with the current standard of care (azacitidine, venetoclax, cytarabine, gilteritinib), as well as current therapies under development, such as menin inhibitors.
Galecto plans to file an IND for BRM-1420 in the US in late 2025 or early 2026 and initiate clinical studies in patients with AML thereafter. Exclusive global rights to the program were assigned by Bridge Medicines to Galecto through a license with The Rockefeller University. The pioneering discoveries were a result of collaboration between the Rockefeller University and the Tri-Institutional Therapeutics Discovery Institute (Tri-I TDI), followed by licensing by Bridge Medicines.