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Incyte swings the axe on oral checkpoint inhibitors

Until today Incyte had been one of the key remaining players in oral checkpoint blockade, but the group has now thrown in the towel, with its two small-molecule PD-L1 inhibitors among a raft of projects disclosed as discontinued alongside its second-quarter results. Incyte is also getting out of Tim3, which Novartis abandoned earlier this year, and Lag3, one of the few checkpoints beyond PD-(L)1 that has seen any success. Meanwhile, Incyte noted an increased focus on CDK2, where the group will present data at ESMO, and is vying with Pfizer and Blueprint, and the increasingly crowded KRAS G12D field, among other mechanisms. Oral PD-L1 inhibition has long failed to live up to expectations; Curis had also been active here, with the PD-L1/PD-L2/VISTA antagonist CA-170, but that project was deprioritised in late 2022. Amgen also had an oral contender, CCX559, through its purchase of ChemoCentryx, but this no longer appears in its pipeline. According to OncologyPipeline the remaining oral PD-L1 scene is dominated by Chinese companies – including Chipscreen, which recently took its contender into human trials. Incyte already has an approved anti-PD-1 MAb, Zynyz.

 

What’s in and what’s out at Incyte

ProjectDescriptionNote
Discontinued
TuparstobartAnti-Lag3 MAbAgenus partnered, had been in ph2 for H&N, Merkel cell carcinoma & solid tumours
VerzistobartAnti-Tim3 MAbAgenus partnered, had been in ph2 for H&N, Merkel cell carcinoma & solid tumours
INCB99280Oral PD-L1 inhibitorHad been in ph2 for solid tumours & squamous cell carcinoma
INCB99318Oral PD-L1 inhibitorHad been in ph1 for solid tumours
INCA32459Lag3 x PD-1 bispecific MAbMerus partnered, had been in ph1 for solid tumours
Still in play
INCB057643BET inhibitorPh3 + Jakafi planned to start 2024
ZilurgisertibALK2 inhibitorPh1/2 in MDS and MM
INCB123667CDK2 inhibitorPh1 in solid tumours
INCB161734KRAS G12D inhibitorPh1 in solid tumours
INCA33890TGFßR2 × PD-1 bispecific MAbPh1 in solid tumours
INCA033989Anti-CALRmut MAbPh1 in myelofibrosis
INCB160058JAK2 V617F inhibitorPh1 in myelofibrosis

Source: OncologyPipeline & company release.

Tags

Tumors
Molecular Drug Targets