On March 25, 2025 Exelixis, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXEL) reported that preclinical data will be presented for four pipeline molecules at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting 2025 taking place April 25-30 in Chicago, IL (Press release, Exelixis, MAR 25, 2025, View Source [SID1234651412]).

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"We are excited to share preclinical data from four of our pipeline molecules that constitute the next phase in our commitment to the discovery and development of innovative cancer treatments," said Dana T. Aftab, Ph.D., Executive Vice President, Discovery & Translational Research, and Chief Scientific Officer, Exelixis. "The results support the advancement into clinical development of these biotherapeutics and small molecules, as well as their potential to become best- and/or first-in-class therapies with differentiated clinical profiles."

Exelixis will present preclinical data for XL495 and XL309, small molecules that have demonstrated synthetic lethality in the context of certain genetic anomalies frequently found in some tumors. Preclinical data will also be presented for the PD-L1xNKG2A-targeting bispecific antibody XB628 and the tissue factor-targeting antibody-drug conjugate XB371. Initial details about the poster presentations can be found below. Full data will be presented at the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting.

Abstract 1733: XL495 is a potent, selective, and orally bioavailable inhibitor of PKMYT1
Lead Author: Dana Gwinn, Ph.D.
Session Title: Kinase and Phosphatase Inhibitors 1
Monday, April 28, 2:00-5:00 p.m. CT
Preclinical results will be presented for XL495, a novel, potent small molecule inhibitor of PKMYT1. The inhibition of PKMYT1 is synthetically lethal in cells with genetic anomalies that lead to replication stress—a common occurrence in cancer cells but not in normal cells. Data from the analysis show XL495 has demonstrated the potential for anti-tumor activity alone and in combination with DNA-damaging agents. A phase 1 clinical study of XL495 in patients with locally advanced or metastatic solid tumors, both as monotherapy and in combination with select cytotoxic agents in tumor-specific indications, is underway.

Abstract 2936: Preclinical characterization of XB371, a novel anti-tissue factor antibody-drug conjugate
Lead Author: Kathy Gogas, Ph.D.
Session Title: Growth Factor Receptors and Other Surface Antigens as Targets for Therapy 1
Monday, April 28, 2:00-5:00 p.m. CT
This poster presentation will highlight preclinical data for XB371, an antibody-drug conjugate, constructed using Catalent’s SMARTag site-specific bioconjugation platform, that pairs a tissue factor-targeting antibody with a topoisomerase inhibitor payload using a novel cleavable linker. This design may offer the molecule broad applicability across tumor types and a clinically differentiated potential. Results to be presented support in vitro cell killing activity and in vivo efficacy, supporting the advancement of XB371 into clinical development. Exelixis is planning to submit an investigational new drug application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for XB371 in 2025.

Abstract 5723: XL309 is a potent, selective, and orally bioavailable USP1 inhibitor active as monotherapy and in combination with PARP inhibitors or irinotecan
Lead Author: Alex Charruyer-Reinwald, Ph.D.
Session Title: PARP Inhibitors
Tuesday, April 29, 2:00-5:00 p.m. CT
Preclinical results will be presented for XL309, a potent and selective small molecule inhibitor of USP1, the inhibition of which is lethal in cells with BRCA 1/2 mutations. The findings demonstrate activity of XL309 alone or in combination with PARP or topoisomerase inhibitors. A phase 1 clinical study of XL309 as a monotherapy or in combination with olaparib in patients with advanced solid tumors is underway.

Abstract 6067: Preclinical evaluation of XB628: A novel PD-L1 x NKG2A bispecific antibody
Lead Author: Bee-Cheng Sim, Ph.D.
Session Title: Antibodies 3: Multi-Target Checkpoint Inhibitors and Immune Activators
Tuesday, April 29, 2:00-5:00 p.m. CT
Preclinical data on XB628, a first-in-class bispecific antibody that simultaneously targets PD-L1 and NKG2A, will be presented. Data from this analysis show that XB628 is efficacious in tumor cell killing in vitro and in vivo, supporting advancement of this molecule into clinical development. Earlier this month, the U.S. FDA cleared Exelixis’ Investigational New Drug application for XB628.

On March 25, 2025 Veracyte, Inc. (Nasdaq: VCYT), a leading cancer diagnostics company, reported new data showing that its whole-genome sequencing (WGS)-based platform for minimal residual disease (MRD) testing detected cancer in patients treated for muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) with more accuracy than ddPCR-based blood testing and earlier compared to standard imaging (Press release, Veracyte, MAR 25, 2025, View Source [SID1234651411]). The findings, from the large, independent, multicenter, interventional TOMBOLA trial (NCT04138628), were shared in an oral presentation at the 40th Annual European Association of Urology Congress (EAU25) in Madrid by Iver Nordentoft, Ph.D., Aarhus University (Abstract A0162: "Comparison of ctDNA detection methods for monitoring minimal residual disease in patients with bladder cancer: Insights from the TOMBOLA Trial").

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The new study involved 100 patients enrolled in the TOMBOLA trial who had MIBC and were undergoing standard-of-care neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) and radical cystectomy (RC). Their blood samples were evaluated for circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) using both ddPCR-based and Veracyte’s WGS-based MRD testing platform to detect disease recurrence. Patients also underwent imaging. At the 6-month milestone, in comparison to ddPCR, the Veracyte MRD testing platform had an equivalent and outstanding negative predictive value (95.9% Veracyte MRD vs. 96.2% ddPCR) for cancer recurrence, while having a higher specificity (88% Veracyte MRD vs. 62% ddPCR). Longer follow-up is required to determine the clinical impact of these results. The findings also showed that the Veracyte MRD testing platform detected cancer recurrence a median of 93 days sooner than imaging. In the ongoing trial, ctDNA-positive patients are treated with immunotherapy and followed for clinical response.

"Up to half of patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer experience recurrence within two years of initial treatment, and using ctDNA status to guide oncological treatment would spare some patients from unnecessary treatments," said Lars Dyrskjøt Andersen, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Clinical Medicine and Department of Molecular Medicine at Aarhus University in Denmark and principal investigator of the TOMBOLA trial. "ctDNA testing using ddPCR has demonstrated promise for MRD detection, but it has inherent limitations that may impede its clinical use, particularly on a large scale. Our findings show that Veracyte’s whole-genome sequencing approach to MRD testing demonstrates high accuracy and may improve overall clinical utility, compared to ddPCR."

Veracyte’s MRD testing platform utilizes a combination of whole-genome sequencing and artificial intelligence (AI) to provide fast and accurate detection of residual cancer in a patient’s blood sample. This approach requires less blood and offers faster results, compared to ctDNA testing that uses bespoke panels, enabling earlier detection and improved outcomes. Veracyte’s MRD testing platform characterizes the complete set of cancer mutations in the tumor tissue sample and blood to establish a patient-specific, landmark genomic signature. It then uses whole-genome sequencing and AI to detect that signature in subsequent blood samples, indicating that cancer is present, and to track tumor progression throughout the patient’s treatment and follow-up care. Veracyte plans to launch its first MRD test in muscle-invasive bladder cancer in the first half of 2026, with other cancer indications to follow.

"The new data presented at EAU25 reinforce the power of the Veracyte Diagnostics Platform, which is at the core of all of our tests and will now enable us to expand into MRD testing in a clinically meaningful way," said Philip Febbo, M.D., Veracyte’s chief scientific officer and chief medical officer. "With our first MRD test in muscle-invasive bladder cancer, we are excited to expand our test offerings along the care continuum in urologic cancers where our Decipher tests are widely used and trusted by clinicians to help guide prognosis and treatment decisions."

In addition to the new data for Veracyte’s MRD testing platform, seven abstracts focused on the company’s Decipher Prostate and Decipher Bladder tests were presented at EAU25. More information can be found at the EAU25 website.

About Decipher Bladder

The Decipher Bladder Genomic Classifier is a 219-gene test, developed using RNA whole-transcriptome analysis and machine learning, that is designed for use in patients following bladder cancer diagnosis who face questions regarding treatment intensity. The test classifies bladder tumors into five molecular subtypes, each having distinct tumor biology and potential clinical implications. This information can help physicians and their patients better understand the degree of benefit that would likely be gained from neoadjuvant chemotherapy and/or the likelihood of harboring non-organ-confined disease at time of surgery, respectively. More information about the Decipher Bladder test can be found here.

About Decipher Prostate

The Decipher Prostate Genomic Classifier is a 22-gene test, developed using RNA whole-transcriptome analysis and machine learning, that helps inform treatment decisions for patients with prostate cancer. The test is performed on biopsy or surgically resected samples and provides an accurate risk of developing metastasis with standard treatment. Armed with this information, physicians can better personalize their patients’ care and may recommend less-intensive options for those at lower risk or earlier, more-intensive treatment for those at higher risk of metastasis. The Decipher Prostate test’s performance and clinical utility has been demonstrated in over 85 studies involving more than 200,000 patients. It is the only gene expression test to achieve "Level IB" evidence status and inclusion in the risk-stratification table in the most recent NCCN Guidelines* for prostate cancer. More information about the Decipher Prostate test can be found here.

On March 25, 2025 ORIC Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ORIC), a clinical stage oncology company focused on developing treatments that address mechanisms of therapeutic resistance, reported that a preclinical abstract highlighting the potential of ORIC-944, a potent and selective allosteric inhibitor of PRC2 to treat prostate cancer, has been accepted for poster presentation at the 2025 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting taking place April 25-30, 2025 in Chicago, IL (Press release, ORIC Pharmaceuticals, MAR 25, 2025, View Source [SID1234651410]).

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Poster presentation details:

Title: ORIC-944, a PRC2 inhibitor with best-in-class properties, restores luminal features and restricts adaptation in prostate cancer models, conferring synergy with AR pathway inhibitors
Abstract Number: 452
Date & Time: Sunday, April 27, 2025, 2:00 – 5:00 p.m. CT
Session Category: Experimental and Molecular Therapeutics
Session Title: Epigenetic Targets
Location: Poster Section 20

Abstract Highlights
ORIC-944 is a potent, highly selective, orally bioavailable, allosteric inhibitor of PRC2 that demonstrates best-in-class drug properties, including potency, solubility, and pharmacokinetics, with half-life supporting once daily dosing. In preclinical prostate cancer models, ORIC-944 demonstrated robust inhibition of PRC2, enhanced luminal cell state, and increased androgen receptor (AR) signaling. Analysis of chromatin revealed that ORIC-944 specifically restricts accessibility to lineage-associated transcription factors known to impart cellular plasticity in prostate cancer. This plasticity-restricted luminal state conferred by PRC2 inhibition is dependent on AR, leading to antitumor activity either in the hormone-depleted context or in the combination setting with an AR pathway inhibitor (ARPI). Together these data indicate that ORIC-944 reinforces a luminal cell state and, notably, restricts access to plasticity genes leading to a highly AR-dependent state in prostate models. This mechanism supports the observed preclinical synergy between PRC2 inhibition and ARPIs in both ARPI-sensitive and ARPI-resistant settings. These results position ORIC-944 as a potential best-in-class PRC2 inhibitor that blocks prostate tumor adaptation, restores luminal features, and sensitizes tumors to ARPIs. A phase 1b trial of ORIC-944 in combination with ARPIs is ongoing in metastatic prostate cancer (NCT05413421).

On March 25, 2025 Nurix Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: NRIX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of targeted protein degradation medicines, reported that company scientists will present preclinical data from its proprietary DEL-AI platform and several degrader programs in two oral presentations and two poster presentations at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) 2025 Annual Meeting, which will be held from April 25-30, 2025, in Chicago, IL (Press release, Nurix Therapeutics, MAR 25, 2025, View Source [SID1234651409]).

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Oral Presentation Details:

Title: DEL-AI: Proteome-wide in silico screening of multi-billion compound libraries using machine learning foundation models
Presenting author: Paul Novick, Ph.D.
Session title: Innovative Approaches in Drug Discovery: Novel Leads, Degraders, and AI-Driven Solutions
Session date and time: Monday, April 28, 2025, 2:30 PM – 4:30 PM CST
Abstract ID: 3762

Title: Identification of selective, orally bioavailable Aurora A degraders for treatment of pediatric and adult cancers
Presenting author: Ryan Rountree, Ph.D.
Session title: Degraders and Glues
Session date and time: Tuesday, April 29, 2025, 2:30 PM – 4:30 PM CST
Abstract ID: 6379

Poster Presentation Details:

Title: NRX-0305: a pan-mutant BRAF degrader with broad preclinical efficacy, brain penetrance, and synergistic potential with MEKi across class 1/2/3 BRAF-mutant cancers
Presenting authors: Alexandra ‘Sasha’ Borodovsky, Ph.D.
Session title: Degraders and Glues 2
Session date and time: Monday, April 28, 2025, 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM CST
Abstract ID: 1651

Title: NX-5948 is a CNS-penetrant catalytic Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) degrader that breaks established design rules for CNS drugs
Presenting authors: Wylie Palmer, Ph.D.
Session title: Targeted Protein Degradation
Session date and time: Wednesday, April 30, 2025, 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM CST
Abstract ID: 7003

About DEL-AI
DEL-AI is Nurix’s discovery platform which employs advanced machine learning to enable all aspects of Nurix’s discovery engine, starting with DNA encoded library (DEL) hit-finding and degrader design, followed by automated chemistry synthesis and direct-to-biology screening and optimization, to rapidly generate degraders and degrader antibody conjugates (DACs) as new chemical entity drug candidates. By leveraging hundreds of billions of DEL compound binding signatures derived from thousands of DEL affinity screens collected from a diverse set of highly validated protein targets, our DEL-AI platform can prospectively identify binders as starting points for drug discovery for virtually any pharmaceutically relevant target.

About Bexobrutideg (NX-5948)
Bexobrutideg is an investigational, orally bioavailable, brain penetrant, small molecule degrader of BTK. Bexobrutideg is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1 clinical trial in patients with relapsed or refractory B cell malignancies. Additional information on the ongoing clinical trial can be accessed at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT05131022).

About NRX-0305
NRX-0305 is a potent, selective, and orally bioavailable mutant-specific BRAF degrader that Nurix is exploring for use in oncology. Nurix has reported preclinical data demonstrating potent anti-tumor activity in multiple cell line-derived and patient-derived xenograft disease models representing Class I, Class II and Class III B-RAF mutations. Anti-tumor activity was also observed in the setting of CNS disease and treatment-resistance, suggesting the potential for utility across a broad range of solid tumor types

About Aurora A Kinase
Aurora A kinase (AURKA) is an oncogene frequently overexpressed in adult solid tumors, hematologic malignancies, and pediatric cancers. Several AURKA inhibitors are effective in preclinical tumor models, but this activity has failed to translate into clinical efficacy. To address the limitations of inhibitors, Nurix has designed bifunctional targeted protein degraders of AURKA that enable removal of both enzymatic and scaffolding functions.

On March 25, 2025 Mural Oncology plc (Nasdaq: MURA), a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company, reported that the ARTISTRY-7 phase 3 trial of nemvaleukin alfa in combination with Merck’s (known as MSD outside the US and Canada) anti-PD-1 therapy, KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) versus investigator’s choice chemotherapy in patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer (PROC) will not continue to final analysis and the company will cease development of nemvaleukin for PROC (Press release, Mural Oncology, MAR 25, 2025, View Source [SID1234651408]). In the pre-specified interim analysis conducted by the independent data monitoring committee, nemvaleukin in combination with pembrolizumab did not achieve a statistically significant improvement in overall survival versus investigator’s choice chemotherapy alone and the company believes the study is highly unlikely to achieve success at the final analysis. Median overall survival was 10.1 months for patients treated with nemvaleukin in combination with pembrolizumab and 9.8 months for patients treated with investigator’s choice chemotherapy (hazard ratio: 0.98).

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"We are disappointed for ovarian cancer patients desperately lacking new treatment options. There has been a great deal of work across the industry in this immunologically cold tumor, yet there are still few treatment options that improve survival in this very difficult-to-treat tumor type. We are still on track to report topline data from our potentially registrational trial in mucosal melanoma later next quarter and will assess all available data to inform our next steps," said Caroline Loew, Ph.D., CEO of Mural Oncology.

Nemvaleukin has a well characterized and favorable safety profile, both as a monotherapy and in combination with pembrolizumab, with over 800 patients treated across the broader clinical program. In the interim analysis of ARTISTRY-7, the safety profile was generally consistent with previously reported data.

Nemvaleukin is currently being evaluated in a potentially registrational, phase 2 trial, ARTISTRY-6, cohort 2 in mucosal melanoma, with a topline data readout expected in Q2 2025. Preliminary data readouts for less-frequent intravenous dosing of nemvaleukin in patients with cutaneous melanoma are expected in the second quarter of 2025 for cohort 3 of ARTISTRY-6 (monotherapy) and the second half of 2025 for cohort 4 of ARTISTRY-6 (combination therapy), subject to patient enrollment.

KEYTRUDA is a registered trademark of Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA.

About the ARTISTRY-7 Trial

ARTISTRY-7 is a phase 3 trial comparing nemvaleukin in combination with pembrolizumab vs. investigator choice single agent chemotherapy in patients with platinum-resistant epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer, with a primary endpoint of overall survival. This four-arm trial also contains two smaller single agent arms, a pembrolizumab and a nemvaleukin arm, to assess contribution of components. A total of 456 patients were enrolled over the four arms of the trial in an approximate 3:1:1:3 randomization. Only arms 1 (nemvaleukin in combination with pembrolizumab) and 4 (investigator’s choice chemotherapy) were designed to be assessed for statistical comparisons. The pre-specified interim analysis was conducted at 77% events (219 events) needed for the final analysis.

About Nemvaleukin

Nemvaleukin alfa (nemvaleukin) is an engineered fusion protein designed to leverage IL-2’s antitumor effects while mitigating the hallmark toxicities that limit its use. Nemvaleukin selectively binds to the intermediate-affinity IL-2 receptor (IL-2R) and is sterically occluded from binding to the high-affinity IL-2R. Because of this molecular design, nemvaleukin treatment leads to preferential expansion of antitumor CD8+ T cells and natural killer cells, with minimal expansion of immunosuppressive regulatory T cells. Nemvaleukin is currently being evaluated in a potentially registrational trial, ARTISTRY-6, cohort 2 in mucosal melanoma, with a topline readout expected in Q2 2025. Preliminary data readouts for less-frequent intravenous dosing of nemvaleukin in patients with cutaneous melanoma are expected in the second quarter of 2025 for cohort 3 of ARTISTRY-6 (monotherapy) and the second half of 2025 for cohort 4 of ARTISTRY-6 (combination therapy), subject to patient enrollment.