AstraZeneca snips IL-12 candidate from pipeline as it sharpens I/O focus

09 Feb 2023
endpts.com
Phase 2Phase 1Oligonucleotide
Tipping its hand as part of its quarterly R&D update, AstraZeneca reported it has dropped two early-stage cancer drugs and a mid-stage candidate for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, while also ditching some trials for Fasenra and an experimental IL-33 antibody. The decision to discard an IL-12 therapy that works by delivering an IL-12 transgene within an oncolytic virus comes just days after Bristol Myers Squibb announced it’s handing back an IL-12 candidate to Dragonfly. But according to AstraZeneca, it’s all about prioritizing the pipeline. “It’s not a lack of belief in IL-12,” Susan Galbraith, who leads oncology R&D for AstraZeneca, said in a response to a question at a press conference. The program being discontinued, MEDI9253, is one of two approaches that the company has been looking at, she explained. The other, partnered with Moderna, is administered as an intratumoral injection — which represents an added patient burden that sets the efficacy bar even higher. “It’s an important cytokine but the mechanisms of action of those two drugs didn’t meet with our specified go/no go criteria and in the context of a very successful overall portfolio,” she said. The other Phase I cancer program being shuttered is an antisense oligonucleotide targeting FOXP3 mRNA for degradation, which was investigated as both a monotherapy and in combination with Imfinzi. For that trial, AstraZeneca recently updated its clinicaltrials.gov entry to note that it recruited less than half of the 153 participants originally planned, before stopping patient enrollment. The company also reported it’s removing the COPD candidate navafenterol from Phase II — which records indicate was completed more than two years ago — chopping a Phase II atopic dermatitis trial for the IL-33 antibody tozorakimab and sweeping out a Phase III trial for Fasenra in eosinophilic gastritis and eosinophilic gastroenteritis that was supposed to enroll 230 patients but ended up with only eight. “We have more projects than we can pay for,” CEO Pascal Soriot said at the press conference, “which is a good thing because then it forces us to be selective and only pick the best.” But the company is also introducing a slate of drugs to the clinic that mirrors R&D bets from some of its Big Pharma brethren. For type 2 diabetes, it’s testing an agonist of GLP-1R, the same target as Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro, in Phase I. Also in Phase I is an IRAK4 inhibitorIRAK4 inhibitor for inflammatory diseases (Sanofi is working on an IRAK4 degrader) and a potential therapy for solid tumors that targets EGFR/cMET, reminiscent of J&J’s bispecific Rybrevant. Through a partnership with Takeda, AstraZeneca has a Phase II antibody dubbed MEDI1341 targeting alpha-synuclein for Parkinson’s disease and multiple system atrophy. It’s also pushed AZD2936, a PD-1/TIGIT bispecific derived from a Compugen pact, into Phase II.
For more details,please visit the original website
The content of the article does not represent any opinions of Synapse and its affiliated companies. If there is any copyright infringement or error, please contact us, and we will deal with it within 24 hours.
Organizations
Indications
Targets
Drugs
Get started for free today!
Accelerate Strategic R&D decision making with Synapse, PatSnap’s AI-powered Connected Innovation Intelligence Platform Built for Life Sciences Professionals.
Start your data trial now!
Synapse data is also accessible to external entities via APIs or data packages. Leverages most recent intelligence information, enabling fullest potential.