On June 7, 2021 SpringWorks Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: SWTX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing life-changing medicines for patients with severe rare diseases and cancer, reported that the company has entered into a clinical trial collaboration agreement with Seagen Inc. to evaluate nirogacestat, SpringWorks’ investigational gamma secretase inhibitor, in combination with SEA-BCMA, Seagen’s investigational monoclonal antibody targeting B-cell maturation agent (BCMA), in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (Press release, SpringWorks Therapeutics, JUN 7, 2021, View Source [SID1234583795]).
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Gamma secretase inhibition prevents the cleavage and shedding of BCMA from the surface of myeloma cells. In preclinical models, nirogacestat has been shown to increase levels of membrane-bound BCMA and reduce levels of soluble BCMA, thereby enhancing the activity of BCMA-targeted therapies.
"We continue to make significant progress advancing nirogacestat as a potential best-in-class cornerstone of BCMA combination therapy for patients with multiple myeloma and are delighted to work with Seagen to study nirogacestat in combination with SEA-BCMA, our first collaboration with a monoclonal antibody targeting BCMA," said Saqib Islam, Chief Executive Officer of SpringWorks. "Our goal is to meaningfully improve clinical outcomes for patients with multiple myeloma and we look forward to generating clinical data using nirogacestat in combination with BCMA-directed therapies across modalities."
Under the terms of the agreement, Seagen will sponsor and conduct the Phase 1 study to evaluate the safety, tolerability and preliminary efficacy of the combination, and will assume all costs associated with the study, other than expenses related to the manufacturing of nirogacestat and certain expenses related to intellectual property rights. Seagen and SpringWorks will also form a joint development committee to manage the clinical study, which is expected to commence in the second half of 2021.
In addition to its ongoing clinical collaborations with BCMA-directed therapies, SpringWorks is conducting a global Phase 3, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial (the DeFi Trial) to evaluate nirogacestat as a monotherapy in adults with progressing desmoid tumors.
About Nirogacestat
Nirogacestat is an investigational, oral, selective, small molecule gamma secretase inhibitor in Phase 3 clinical development for desmoid tumors, which are rare and often debilitating and disfiguring soft-tissue tumors. Gamma secretase cleaves multiple transmembrane protein complexes, including Notch, which is believed to play a role in activating pathways that contribute to desmoid tumor growth.
In addition, gamma secretase has been shown to directly cleave membrane-bound BCMA, resulting in the release of the BCMA extracellular domain, or ECD, from the cell surface. By inhibiting gamma secretase, membrane-bound BCMA can be preserved, increasing target density while reducing levels of soluble BCMA ECD, which may serve as decoy receptors for BCMA-directed therapies. Nirogacestat’s ability to enhance the activity of BCMA-directed therapies has been observed in preclinical models of multiple myeloma. SpringWorks is evaluating nirogacestat as a BCMA potentiator and has six collaborations with industry-leading BCMA developers to evaluate nirogacestat in combinations across modalities, including with an antibody-drug conjugate, two CAR T cell therapies, two bispecific antibodies and a monoclonal antibody. In addition, SpringWorks and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have entered into a sponsored research agreement to further characterize the ability of nirogacestat to modulate BCMA and potentiate BCMA directed therapies using a variety of preclinical and patient-derived multiple myeloma models developed by researchers at Fred Hutch.
Nirogacestat has received Orphan Drug Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of desmoid tumors and from the European Commission for the treatment of soft tissue sarcoma. The FDA also granted Fast Track and Breakthrough Therapy Designations for the treatment of adult patients with progressive, unresectable, recurrent or refractory desmoid tumors or deep fibromatosis.