On June 22, 2020 Nimbus Therapeutics, a biotechnology company designing breakthrough medicines through structure-based drug discovery and development, reported a poster at the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) Virtual Annual Meeting II detailing promising preclinical findings from the company’s HPK1 pipeline program (Press release, Nimbus Therapeutics, JUN 22, 2020, View Source [SID1234561302]).
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Nimbus developed multiple selective small-molecule inhibitors of HPK1 using the company’s proven structure-based drug discovery engine. The lead compound, NMBS-1, displays very high selectivity against T cell-specific kinases and kinases in the MAP4K family and promising activity in in vitro and in vivo models. NMBS-1 enhanced IL-2 production from stimulated human T cells, alleviated PGE2-mediated immunosuppression of T cell activation, and enhanced IL-6 production, proliferation, and IgG secretion from B cells. In a mouse syngeneic tumor model, oral administration of NMBS-1 resulted in significant tumor growth inhibition, both as a monotherapy and in combination with anti-CTLA4.
"These data are further evidence that HPK1 inhibition is a potentially powerful approach to achieve anti-tumor immunity — and we’re very pleased that our small-molecule inhibitor displays the selectivity that has long been a challenge for drug makers in this space," said Peter Tummino, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Nimbus. "We will continue rapidly advancing our preclinical studies, with the goal of initiating a first-in-human trial next year."
The poster is titled "A Highly Selective and Potent HPK1 Inhibitor Enhances Immune Cell Activation and Induces Robust Tumor Growth Inhibition in a Syngeneic Tumor Model."
The company will be hosting a webcast to further discuss these data on Thursday, June 25, from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. ET. If you wish to attend the live webcast, please pre-register at https://bit.ly/NimbusHPK1Seminar. A replay of the webcast will be available at this link after the event.