
Roche reminds the markets that it’s a Kras player
A low-key footnote to Roche’s first-quarter financials today revealed that the group had put RG6433, a Shp2 inhibitor, into a phase 1 trial. This pharmacology is becoming an important mechanism in targeting Kras-driven cancers, as the Shp2 enzyme is thought to play a role in cycling Kras between its “on” and “off” states. It appears that RG6433 is Roche’s new code for RLY-1971, a project the company licensed from Relay Therapeutics for $75m up front last December. Relay had started its own phase 1 study of RLY-1971 over a year ago, but no data are available. The most advanced Shp2 player is Novartis with TNO155, a project being combined with Mirati’s Kras G12C inhibitor adagrasib, while Merck & Co did an early Shp2 deal with Otsuka in January. Revolution Medicine/Sanofi’s RMC-4630, meanwhile, disappointed at an AACR late-breaker, at least as monotherapy. Mirroring the actions of Novartis/Mirati, Roche’s plan includes combining Shp2 inhibition with its early-stage Kras G12C inhibitor GDC-6036, which is separately in phase 1. Given the growing interest in Kras it seems unlikely that these assets will remain under the radar for long.
Src homology phosphatase (Shp) 2 inhibitor pipeline | ||
---|---|---|
Project | Company | Comment |
TNO155 | Novartis | Ph1/2 studies in combo with in Kras G12C inhibitors adagrasib (Mirati) & JDQ443 (Novartis) |
RMC-4630 (SAR442720) | Revolution Medicines/Sanofi | Ph1/2 combo trial; deal signed Jul 2018 |
JAB-3068 | Abbvie/Jacobio | Ph1/2 ends Jul 2021; deal signed Jun 2020 |
JAB-3312 | Abbvie/Jacobio | Ph1 ends imminently; deal signed Jun 2020 |
RG6433 (RLY-1971) | Roche/Relay Therapeutics | Ph1; deal signed Dec 2020 |
BBP-398 (IACS-15509 / IACS-13909) | Navire (Bridgebio Pharma) | Ph1 started Nov 2020 |
ERAS-601 | Erasca | Ph1 (Flagshp-1) started Dec 2020 |
SH3809 | Nanjing Sanhome | Ph1 started Apr 2021 |
HBI-2376 | Huya Bioscience/Suzhou Genhouse | Preclinical; licensing deal Aug 2020 |
ETS-001 | Shanghai Etern Biopharma | Preclinical data at AACR 2021. |
Shp2 programme | Merck & Co/Otsuka | Preclinical; licensing option exercised Jan 2021 |
Shp2 inhibitors | Redx Pharma | Earlier mentioned as a research project |
Source: company announcements. |
This story has been updated to add the Shanghai Etern asset.