Blueprint clears the house in EGFR

Having not long ago pioneered the search for fourth-generation EGFR inhibitors to improve on the efficacy of AstraZeneca’s lung cancer blockbuster Tagrisso, Blueprint yesterday abandoned this field. The group’s JP Morgan healthcare conference update brought news that BLU-945, its most advanced asset in the phase 1/2 Symphony study, was being “de-prioritised”, along with the EGFR exon 20 insertion inhibitor BLU-451. The latter is especially surprising, since Blueprint had paid $250m to acquire this asset’s maker, Lengo Therapeutucs, in November 2021. The decision follows the earlier discontinuation of BLU-701, and moves by Black Diamond and Bridge Biotherapeutics to can earlier work and turn to more promising EGFR inhibitors, namely BDTX-1535 and BBT-207. Another player still in fourth-generation EGFR inhibition is Theseus, with THE-349, though that company is now being taken private in a sale to Concentra Biosciences. In November 2022 Blueprint decided to prioritise development of the preclinical fourth-generation EGFR inhibitor BLU-525, but now this too has disappeared from its pipeline. Instead Blueprint’s solid tumour focus is now on CDK2 inhibition, including with an unnamed degrader project.

Blueprint’s EGFR clearout

Source: company statements.