As the field of cancer treatment shifts to precision medicines that target specific genetic characteristics, biotech companies are looking for better ways to achieve these proven goals. Blueprint Medicines believes that a small molecule from Lengo Therapeutics has advantages over two newly approved targeted therapies from two major pharmaceutical giants, and the company has reached an agreement Buy startups And the medicines prepared in phase 1.
Under the terms announced on Monday, Blueprint, headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, will pay $250 million in cash to acquire Lengo and its main drug candidate, LNG-451. Lengo, headquartered in San Diego, may earn an additional $215 million from achieving regulatory and sales milestones.
Lengo’s drug is a small molecule designed to block a kinase, an enzyme that has a mutation called the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) exon 20 insertion. EGFR is a protein involved in cell signaling. In non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and other solid tumors, EGFR mutations can drive tumor growth. Although NSCLC is the most common form of lung cancer, EGFR exon 20 insertion mutations are rare, and cancers that exhibit this mutation do not respond to EGFR-targeted drugs.
May, the FDA approves the first targeted cancer therapy for EGFR exon 20 insertion mutation. Johnson & Johnson’s drug Rybrevant is a bispecific antibody that binds to EGFR and MET, which is another protein expressed on the surface of NSCLC cells. The drug is administered as an infusion. Takeda Pharmaceutical’s EGFR exon 20 targeted drug Exkivity received regulatory approval in September, In non-small cell lung cancer. This small molecule provides a dosage advantage for patients because it is taken once a day.
in a Investor introduction, Blueprint said that all approved and experimental therapies have safety and effectiveness limitations, as well as limited ability to reach the central nervous system. Without going into details, the presentation pointed out that the preclinical data of Lengo drug showed that LNG-451 blocked all common EGFR exon 20 insertion variants, and it did not affect non-mutated EGFR or other off-target kinases .
Blueprint also stated in the speech that LNG-451 can penetrate into the brain, which is important for solving non-small cell lung cancer that has spread to this organ. Blueprint stated that Lengo’s drug has shown “compelling activity” in preclinical models of intracranial disease. In the view of biotech companies, all these characteristics make LNG-451 the best drug category targeting the insertion mutation in exon 20 of EGFR.
Blueprint’s anti-cancer drug lineup includes Gavreto is a small molecule that was approved last year for the first-line treatment of non-small cell lung cancer characterized by RET gene changesThe drug is being commercialized in cooperation with Roche. The Blueprint pipeline also includes two NSCLC drug candidates characterized by the deletion of EGFR exon 19 and a mutant form of EGFR called L858R. The first BLU-945 is in Phase 1/2 testing; Phase 1/2 clinical trials of BLU-701 are expected to begin at the end of this year. In the investor presentation, Blueprint said that with the addition of Lengo drugs, the company’s pipeline will resolve more than 90% of activating EGFR mutations.
Lengo was founded by Frazier Healthcare Partners, the company Activated Last year, it received 15 million U.S. dollars in Series A financing. Frazier said Lengo emerged during discussions within the investment company and among oncology researchers who discovered several cancer mutations that cannot be resolved by existing cancer therapies. At the time, Lengo kept its cancer targets secret, but it did disclose the license for a new chemical product authorized by Jubilant Life Sciences Limited, an Indian pharmaceutical company now known as Jubilant Pharmova.
An investigational new drug application for LNG-451 is preparing to be submitted to the FDA in December. In addition to the lead drug, Blueprint has also received other undisclosed preclinical cancer therapies, including other kinase inhibitors that can penetrate the brain. Lengo also brings the research tools it uses to discover them. Blueprint expects to complete the acquisition of Lengo before the end of this year.
picture: Blue Ring Media, Getty Images
