Chk1

Pictured: The Nasdaq MarketSite in New York/iStock, hapabapa Boundless Bio on Wednesday launched its bid to go public, seeking additional funds to develop novel therapies targeting extrachromosomal DNA for various cancer indications. The Bayer- and RA Capital-backed biotech has yet to disclose how much it expects to make from its initial public offering (IPO), nor has it given a specific timeline for going public, only that it expects to close the offering within the year. Once closed, Boundless proposes to trade on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker symbol BOLD. Boundless is planning to use its IPO proceeds to support the development of its three therapeutic candidates that target extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA), which play a central role in the amplification of cancer-causing genes in approximately 14% of malignancies, according to the company’s SEC filing on Wednesday. With its proprietary Spyglass platform, Boundless is now working on three cancer programs that work by blocking specific ecDNA targets, stopping them from amplifying oncogenes and preventing tumor cells from adapting and building resistance to existing therapies. The biotech’s candidates specifically target cancer cells with ecDNA without affecting healthy cells. Two of its programs are currently in Phase I studies. Its lead program, dubbed BBI-355, is a selective blocker of checkpoint kinase 1, which is key to the replication and transcription of ecDNA in cancer cells. BBI-355 is being evaluated in the Phase I/II POTENTIATE study, with early data expected in the second half of 2024. Boundless’ second program is BBI-825, an oral inhibitor of ribonucleotide reductase, which helps assemble and repair ecDNA in cancer cells. The biotech is running the Phase I/II STARMAP trial and expects early proof-of-concept data in the latter half of 2025. The biotech’s third ecDNA candidate is still in the discovery phase. Boundless is planning to submit an Investigational New Drug application for this program as early as the first half of 2026, according to its SEC filing. In addition to supporting its clinical pipeline, Boundless will also use the IPO’s proceeds to fund the development of an ecDNA diagnostic test—preliminarily dubbed ECHO—which will use genomic data from routine screening assays to detect ecDNA in patients’ tumor samples. Boundless’ IPO will add to the more than $252 million that the biotech has raised since its inception. This sum includes an oversubscribed $105 million Series B round in April 2021, which was backed primarily by RA Capital Management and Nextech Invest. Boundless closed another fundraising round in May 2023, securing $100 million in an oversubscribed Series C led by RA and Bayer. Wednesday’s IPO filing also continues the industry’s rally in 2024, which was started by CG Oncology in January and includes ArriVent Biopharma, Kyverna Therapeutics and pre-clinical biotech Metagenomi, as well as Alto Neuroscience and Fractyl Health. Tristan Manalac is an independent science writer based in Metro Manila, Philippines. Reach out to him on LinkedIn or email him at tristan@tristanmanalac.com or tristan.manalac@biospace.com.

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Boundless Bio, a clinical-stage, next-generation precision oncology company interrogating extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA) biology to deliver transformative therapies to patients with previously intractable oncogene amplified cancers, today announced multiple upcoming poster presentations at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2024, which is being held April 5-10, 2024, in San Diego, CA. Details of the presentations are as follows: Title: Oral CHK1 inhibitor BBI-355 allows flexibility of dose and schedule with demonstration of monotherapy and combinational antitumor activity in extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA) driven preclinical models Abstract Number: 613 Session Category: Experimental and Molecular Therapeutics Session Title: Kinase and Phosphatase Inhibitors 1 Session Date and Time: Sunday Apr 7, 2024, 1:30 PM - 5:00 PM PT Location: Poster Section 25 Poster Board Number: 23 Title: Preclinical and clinical pharmacodynamic characterization of BBI-355, a novel, orally bioavailable, and selective CHK1 inhibitor being evaluated in the first-in-human Phase 1/2 POTENTIATE clinical trial of patients with cancer harboring oncogene amplifications Abstract Number: 3631 Session Category: Clinical Research Session Title: Biomarkers in Clinical Trials Session Date and Time: Monday Apr 8, 2024, 1:30 PM - 5:00 PM PT Location: Poster Section 40 Poster Board Number: 9 Title: ecDNA-based amplification of multi-drug resistance genes leads to acquired resistance to taxane-based chemotherapy Abstract Number: 5870 Session Category: Experimental and Molecular Therapeutics Session Title: Mechanisms of Drug Resistance 3 Session Date and Time: Tuesday Apr 9, 2024, 1:30 PM - 5:00 PM PT Location: Poster Section 24 Poster Board Number: 14 About BBI-355 Boundless Bio’s lead ecDNA-directed therapy (ecDTx), BBI-355, is a novel, oral, selective inhibitor of checkpoint kinase 1 (CHK1) being studied in the ongoing, first-in-human, Phase 1/2 POTENTIATE clinical trial (NCT05827614) in patients with oncogene amplified cancers. CHK1 is a master regulator of cells’ response to replication stress (RS). RS is elevated in ecDNA-enabled oncogene amplified cancer cells and, because of this, represents a key vulnerability of those cells. BBI-355 was designed to exploit the elevated RS in ecDNA-enabled oncogene amplified cancer cells by disrupting proper CHK1 function in regulating RS and thereby facilitating catastrophic RS to preferentially kill cancer cells relative to healthy cells. About Boundless Bio Boundless Bio is a clinical-stage oncology company dedicated to unlocking a new paradigm in cancer therapeutics to address the significant unmet need of patients with oncogene amplified tumors by targeting extrachromosomal DNA (ecDNA), a root cause of oncogene amplification and observed in more than 14% of cancer patients. Boundless Bio is developing the first ecDNA-directed therapy (ecDTx), BBI-355, which is an oral inhibitor of checkpoint kinase 1 (CHK1) and is being evaluated in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial in patients with oncogene amplified cancers Boundless Bio’s second ecDTx, BBI-825, is an oral inhibitor of ribonucleotide reductase (RNR) and recently entered a Phase 1/2 clinical trial in cancer patients with resistance gene amplifications. Leveraging its Spyglass platform, Boundless Bio has additional programs advancing through preclinical development and discovery. Boundless Bio is headquartered in San Diego, CA. For more information, visit . Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter. View source version on businesswire.com: Contacts James Lee, Boundless Bio jlee@boundlessbio.com Media 1AB Dan Budwick dan@1abmedia.com Source: Boundless Bio View this news release online at:

BenevolentAI, an AI-driven biopharma drug discovery company, announced that it has appointed Joerg Moeller as chief executive officer and executive board member, effective immediately. Moeller’s most recent role was as EVP, head of Global Research and Development at LEO Pharma, where he reorganized the R&D organization for growth and innovation. His career includes over 20 years at Bayer, where he held various executive roles, culminating in EVP, head of Pharmaceuticals R&D. Last May, BenevolentAI unveiled organizational restructuring plans, which included a headcount reduction and reprioritization of its pipeline. The company narrowed its focus to two early-stage assets: a potentially best-in-class PDE10 inhibitor for the treatment of ulcerative colitis and a CHK1 inhibitor designed for treating a type of brain tumor. In September, the company inked a $594 million dead with Merck, handing over its end-to-end AI platform to help the drugmaker identify and develop innovative compounds from Hit Identification (Hit ID) to the pre-clinical stage.