Mosaic Licenses Two Cancer Drugs from Astex

Mosaic Therapeutics, a biotech company based in Cambridge, UK, has strengthened its strategy for developing combination medicines by acquiring licenses for two clinical-stage cancer drugs from Astex Pharmaceuticals, another British biotech firm. These drugs are ASTX029, an ERK1/2 inhibitor that has successfully completed a phase 2 clinical trial, and ASTX295, an MDM2 antagonist that has undergone a phase 1 trial. Both drugs have shown effectiveness as standalone treatments, paving the way for their use in combination therapies, as stated by Mosaic in a release dated April 24.

As part of the licensing agreement, Astex, a company owned by Otsuka Pharmaceutical, will receive a 19% equity stake in Mosaic, with the possibility of gaining an additional 3% if certain milestones are achieved. This agreement is a significant advancement for Mosaic, which had earlier secured $28 million in a Series A funding round aimed at harnessing large datasets to pinpoint effective combinations of oncology drugs for specific patient groups defined by biomarkers.

Edward Hodgkin, the chair of Mosaic, highlighted the importance of this deal, indicating that it would considerably speed up the company's development trajectory. The agreement sets the stage for Mosaic to initiate its first clinical study of a combination treatment in the coming year. Hodgkin, who is also a managing partner at Syncona Investment Management, a backer of Mosaic, noted that these newly acquired assets would allow the company to advance targeted drug combinations in new biomarker-defined settings. This move is expected to facilitate the development of precision medicines for patients with limited treatment options.

Astex Pharmaceuticals, also located in Cambridge, has a history of successful collaborations with major pharmaceutical companies. In the past, it worked with Novartis on the development of the breast cancer medication Kisqali and with AstraZeneca on the breast cancer treatment Truqap in the mid-2000s. More recently, Astex signed an agreement with Merck & Co. in 2023. Harren Jhoti, Ph.D., CEO and co-founder of Astex, expressed excitement about the partnership with Mosaic, recognizing the potential of Mosaic’s platform to utilize these two drugs as foundational elements for a new range of combination therapies. Jhoti emphasized that both drug targets are well-known drivers of various cancers and expressed enthusiasm about collaborating with Mosaic’s experienced team to expand their pipeline of combination therapies, which target areas of high unmet medical need.

This collaboration marks a critical step for both companies as they aim to address the complex challenges of cancer treatment through innovative combination therapies. By focusing on biomarker-defined patient populations, Mosaic Therapeutics hopes to enhance the efficacy of existing oncology drugs, thereby offering new hope to patients who have limited treatment options. The partnership with Astex Pharmaceuticals not only strengthens Mosaic's pipeline but also reinforces its commitment to delivering precision medicines that tackle cancer's complexity.