Merck KGaA takes a punt on Inspirna’s novel approach
The German group hopes to expand its colorectal cancer offering, taking on the only SLC6A8 inhibitor in development.
The German group hopes to expand its colorectal cancer offering, taking on the only SLC6A8 inhibitor in development.
Merck KGaA has struck a couple of small deals recently, and today’s could be the boldest yet. The group is taking a risk on an untested mechanism, licensing Inspirna’s SLC6A8 inhibitor ompenaclid today outside the US, for an undemanding $45m up front.
Data presented at ESMO, in RAS-mutated second-line colorectal cancer, were the likely trigger for the deal, which also sees Merck gain an option to co-develop and co-commercialise ompenaclid in the US.
However, there are caveats about the results, from a phase 1/2 trial that enrolled patients previously treated with either chemo or Avastin, who then received ompenaclid plus chemo plus Avastin. Merck today highlighted 11 partial responses among 30 evaluable RAS-mutant patients, giving an ORR of 37%; however, seven responders were Avastin-naive, so might have been responding to the approved drug.
Efficacy with ompenaclid in second-line CRC
By way of benchmarks, Folfiri chemo plus Avastin, the standard of care for second-line colorectal cancer, produces an ORR of around 15%, according to the ESMO poster.
Another potential competitor in late-line colorectal cancer could be the KRAS G12C inhibitors, which have led to response rates of 26-62%; however, a comparison here is difficult because these were trialled in combination with Lilly/Merck KGaA’s Erbitux or Amgen’s Vectibix, and in a much narrower mutant population.
In any case, this efficacy signal was enough for Inspirna to take ompenaclid into a randomised, controlled phase 2 in RAS-mutant second-line colorectal cancer, and clearly enough to interest Merck, which will also collaborate on Inspirna’s follow-on SLC6A8 inhibitors. According to OncologyPipeline no other companies are looking at this target, which is involved in creatine transport.
Merck’s latest tie-up follows recent transactions with Abbisko over the CSF-1R inhibitor pimicotinib and Jiangsu Hengrui for the PARP1 inhibitor HRS-1167, worth $70m and €160m up front respectively.
However, deals of this size look unlikely to move the needle for Merck, whose pipeline recently took a blow with the failure of evobrutinib, a BTK inhibitor being developed for multiple sclerosis.
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