On October 27, 2025 ORIC Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ORIC), a clinical stage oncology company focused on developing treatments that address mechanisms of therapeutic resistance, reported posters at the 2025 EORTC-NCI-AACR (Free EORTC-NCI-AACR Whitepaper) AACR-NCI-EORTC (Free AACR-NCI-EORTC Whitepaper) International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics (EORTC-NCI-AACR) (Free ASGCT Whitepaper) (Free EORTC-NCI-AACR Whitepaper) highlighting preclinical data that further illustrate the potential for ORIC-944, a potent and selective allosteric inhibitor of the polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) via the embryonic ectoderm development (EED) subunit, to treat prostate cancer and various other solid tumors.
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"These preclinical data underscore the potential of ORIC-944 to overcome resistance not only in prostate cancer but in other solid tumors and highlight that the therapeutic potential of PRC2 inhibition may be maximized in combination with inhibitors of key tumor drivers, including AR inhibitors and KRAS inhibitors," said Lori Friedman, PhD, chief scientific officer. "Based on these data and clinical findings to date, we continue to believe ORIC-944 is a potential best-in-class PRC2 inhibitor with potential in both castration-resistant and castration-sensitive prostate cancer, as well as multiple other tumor types."
Key findings of posters presented at the 2025 EORTC-NCI-AACR (Free EORTC-NCI-AACR Whitepaper) AACR-NCI-EORTC (Free AACR-NCI-EORTC Whitepaper) International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics (EORTC-NCI-AACR) (Free ASGCT Whitepaper) (Free EORTC-NCI-AACR Whitepaper):
PRC2 inhibition enhances AR inhibitor response to delay treatment relapse in castration-sensitive prostate cancer by restricting adaptation of tumor cells in preclinical studies
ORIC-944 is a potential best-in-class PRC2 inhibitor that, when combined with androgen receptor (AR) inhibition, synergistically impaired tumor growth, significantly improved survival and extended the duration of response to AR inhibitors in vivo by restricting cellular plasticity and delaying prostate tumor adaptation in castration-sensitive prostate cancer (CSPC).
Transcriptional effects induced by combining ORIC-944 and AR inhibitors were comparable across all AR inhibitors tested (i.e., darolutamide, apalutamide or enzalutamide), and consistent with transcriptional effects of mevrometostat and AR inhibitor combination.
Mechanistically, ORIC-944 in combination with AR inhibition in CSPC was linked to increased luminal cell state, and the restriction of lineage adaptation through reduced chromatin accessibility at binding sites of transcription factors associated with lineage diversification and cell plasticity such as FOXA, HNF1A and ONECUT2. These results were reproduced with mevrometostat and AR inhibitor combination and are consistent with what was previously reported in preclinical studies of CRPC.
PRC2 inhibition enhances KRAS inhibitor response to delay treatment relapse in KRAS-mutant preclinical lung and colorectal cancer models
ORIC-944 is a potential best-in-class PRC2 inhibitor that, when combined with KRAS inhibition, significantly improved efficacy and progression-free survival in KRAS G12C mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and colorectal cancer (CRC) models, demonstrating that PRC2 inhibition can deepen and extend responses by preventing or delaying resistance to KRAS inhibition.
PRC2 activity is increased in tumors from KRAS-mutant NSCLC and CRC patients, and transcriptional analysis from in vivo studies of CRC demonstrated that PRC2 inhibition drives tumor cell differentiation.
ORIC-944 combined with the KRAS inhibitor adagrasib, regressed 100% of tumors in KRAS-mutant adenocarcinoma and squamous NSCLC xenograft models in vivo. The combination also prevented adagrasib tumor relapse and extended progression-free survival in a KRAS G12C adenocarcinoma NSCLC xenograft model.
About ORIC-944
ORIC-944 is a potent and selective allosteric PRC2 inhibitor via EED subunit that demonstrates best-in-class drug properties in preclinical studies, including potency, solubility, and pharmacokinetics, with half-life supporting once daily dosing. ORIC-944 was initially evaluated as a single agent in a Phase 1b trial in patients with advanced prostate cancer and demonstrated potential best-in-class drug properties, including clinical half-life of approximately 20 hours, robust target engagement, and a favorable safety profile. ORIC-944 continues to further demonstrate a potential best-in-class profile with positive interim PSA response data generated in an ongoing Phase 1b trial in combination with ERLEADA (apalutamide) and in combination with NUBEQA (darolutamide) for prostate cancer (NCT05413421).
(Press release, ORIC Pharmaceuticals, OCT 27, 2025, View Source [SID1234657035])