Roche says no to MAGE-A4... again
Roche’s latest attempt to hit the MAGE-A4 antigen – at least its third – has ended before it even began, with the discontinuation of a project coded RO7617991. “We have stopped development of RO7617991 and are assessing next steps,” a spokesperson told ApexOnco. RO7617991’s recently unveiled first-in-human trial was withdrawn without recruiting any patients “as a result of a strategic review of our development efforts [and] not related to any preclinical safety or efficacy concerns”. The exact mechanism of RO7617991 hadn’t previously been disclosed, but the study’s clinicaltrials.gov entry revealed that this was to be run in MAGE-A4-positive cancers. The spokesperson confirmed that RO7617991 was a CD3-directed T-cell engager against MAGE-A4, implying the same modality as a previously discontinued in-house Roche project, RO7444973. The Swiss group’s third MAGE-A4 dud was the soluble T-cell receptor IMC-C103C, derived from a 2018 deal with Immunocore. In August Adaptimmune’s Tecelra, an engineered T-cell receptor, became the first MAGE-A4-targeting therapy to secure US approval. Whether Roche gives chase is again up in the air.
Roche's work against MAGE-A4
| Project | Alternative code | Originator | Mechanism of action | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RO7617991 | (none) | Presumed Roche | HLA-A2-restricted T-cell engager | Discontinued in 2024, before ph1 enrolled any patients |
| RO7444973 | RG6129 | Roche | HLA-A2-restricted T-cell engager | Discontinued in 2023, ph1 trial terminated after enrolling 23 patients |
| IMC-C103C | RG6290 | Immunocore | Soluble TCR/anti-CD3 fusion protein | Discontinued in 2023, ph1/2 trial terminated after showing 1 confirmed PR in 17 MAGE-A4+ve ovarian cancer patients |
Source: OncologyPipeline.
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