Abstract 463: GRC 54276, a novel small molecule inhibitor of HPK1 has entered phase 1/2 clinical trial insolid malignancies and Hodgkin’s/non Hodgkin’s lymphoma

Background: Pre-clinical profile of GRC 54276, a clinical candidate with Phase 1/2 clinical trial ongoing, is presented here. GRC 54276 is a novel small molecule inhibitor of Hematopoietic progenitor kinase 1 (HPK1), a serine/threonine kinase1,2 that negatively regulates T and B cell receptor signaling3. Inhibition of HPK1 is an attractive therapeutic strategy for immuno-oncology based treatment of solid tumors3.

Methods: GRC 54276 was designed and developed using SAR based medicinal chemistry design supported by computational approaches. In vitro profiling was done using a battery of biochemical assays, functional read-outs and primary human in vitro T-cell activation assays. In vivo efficacy was demonstrated in mouse colon tumor models of CT26 and MC38-hPD-L1. In vivo inhibition of biomarker pSLP76 Ser(376) by GRC 54276 was determined using CT26 tumor model. Detailed ADME-PK studies have been performed along with safety tolerability studies conducted in mice and monkeys.

Results: GRC 54276, demonstrated excellent in vitro immune profile of target engagement and anti-tumor immune response activity in both human and mouse systems. As a single agent, GRC 54276 demonstrated strong inhibition of tumor growth and biomarker pSLP76 Ser(376) in the CT26 tumor model. Enhanced efficacy was demonstrated by combining GRC 54276 with check-point blocking antibodies anti-CTLA4 and Atezolizumab in the CT26 and MC38-hPD-L1 models, respectively. GRC 54276 robustly enhanced complete tumor rejections when combined with Atezolizumab in the MC38-hPD-L1 model, correlating with increased immune effector memory T cells. Pharmacokinetic profile of GRC 54276 is characterized by high permeability, rapid absorption and moderate oral bioavailable across species. GRC 54276 is non-gentoxic with no observed adverse effects in mice and no treatment related cardiovascular or respiratory effects in repeat dose toxicity study in monkeys.

Conclusions: GRC 54276 is a novel HPK1 inhibtitor with acceptable pre-clincial profile and is currently undergoing a Phase 1/2 clinical trial.

Acknowledgements: We thank Pooja S, Shital M, Rahul B, Ajit J, Sanjay G, Somesh K, Pramod S for their contributions to the project

References: 1. F.Kiefer et al., The EMBO Journal 1996 2. Hu et al., Genes and Development 1996 3. Sawasdikosol and Burakoff. eLife 2020;9:e55122

Citation Format: Sravan Mandadi, Sanjib Das, Malini Bajpai, Jagmohan Saini, Murugan Chinnapattu, Sanjay Patale, Sandip Patil, Nanasaheb Kadlag, Nayan Waghmare, Balasaheb Gavhane, Ameya Deshpande, Dnyaneshwar Dahale, Vidya Kattige, Priyanka Pangre, Namrata Singh, Ekta Kashyap, Megha Marathe, Jiju Mani, Atul Akarte, Chandrasekhar Misra, Subhadip Das, Anuj Singh, Pandurang Lambade, Avratanu Das, Chaitanya Tirumalasetty, Raju Patole, Nilanjana Biswas, Vikas Karande, Heta Shah, Dayanidhi Behera, Pankaj Jain, Pavankumar Sancheti, Pramod Pawar, Vinod KR, Venkatesha Udupa, Sachin S. Chaudhari, Nagaraj Gowda, Pravin S. Iyer. GRC 54276, a novel small molecule inhibitor of HPK1 has entered phase 1/2 clinical trial insolid malignancies and Hodgkin’s/non Hodgkin’s lymphoma [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2023; Part 1 (Regular and Invited Abstracts); 2023 Apr 14-19; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(7_Suppl):Abstract nr 463.

Abstract 462: A novel and potent Cblb inhibitor demonstrates robust immunological profile and anti-tumor efficacy

Background: Casitas B-lineage lymphoma b (Cbl-b), a RING finger E3 ligase, is a negative regulator of immune cell activation1. Genetic deletion or pharmacological inhibition of Cbl-b resulted in hyper-reactive and co-stimulation independent T cell activation and cytokine production1. In syngeneic tumor models, CD8 T-cell and NK-cell mediated rejection of tumours were observed1. These findings point to Cbl-b as a therapeutic target in cancer immunotherapy. Inhibition of Cbl-b also demonstrated the potential to enhance the efficacy of check-point blockers like anti-PD-1 antibody, an unmet need in the clinic.

Methods: Using intuitive medicinal chemistry design supported by computational approaches, we identified a lead Cbl-b inhibitor. SAR was developed using a battery of biochemical assays, functional read-outs and primary human in vitro T-cell activation and exhaustion assays. In vivo efficacy was demonstrated in syngeneic mouse colon tumor model.

Results: Our lead Cbl-b inhibitor demonstrated potent binding to Cbl-b, robust anti-tumor cytokine secretion in human and mouse T cells, whole blood and potent reversal of T cell exhaustion. A strong tumor growth inhibition was demonstrated by the lead compound in a mouse colon tumor model. Compared to single agent, a combination of the lead compound with anti-PD-1 antibody induced enhanced complete tumor rejections.

Conclusions: We have identified a novel, potent and orally bioavailable Cbl-b inhibitor that demonstrated robust in vitro and in vivo anti-tumor profiles.

Acknowledgements: We thank Sanjib Das, Ajit Patil, Gauri Gawas, Savita Pandita, Priya Yadav, Sneha Pusadkar, Mayura Behere, Subhadip Das, Shravankumar Kolli and Radheshyam Yadav for their contributions to the project

References: 1. Clinical and Experimental Immunology, 204: 14-31, 2020

Citation Format: Murugan Chinnapattu, Sandeep Shelke, Prashant Ingale, Nayan Waghmare, Nanasaheb Kadlag, Manoj Pawar, Akshay Kangane, Sachin S. Chaudhari, Jagmohan Saini, Vidya Kattige, Arti Joshi, Colina Dutta, Debjyoti Boral, Sheetal Kadam, Varada Potdar, Jiju Mani, Pooja Sawant, Megha Marathe, Madhavi Mulay, Akshata Virdikar, Sravan Mandadi, Atul Akarte, Anuj Singh, Chandrasekhar Misra, Pandurang Lambade, Chaitanya Tirumalasetty, Raju Patole, Vikas Karande, Dayanidhi Behera, Pankaj Jain, Vishwanath Kurawattimath, Nagaraj Gowda, Pravin S. Iyer. A novel and potent Cblb inhibitor demonstrates robust immunological profile and anti-tumor efficacy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2023; Part 1 (Regular and Invited Abstracts); 2023 Apr 14-19; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(7_Suppl):Abstract nr 462.

Abstract 1804: IND-ready clinical candidate for HPK1 developed with excellent efficacy and safety profile

Background Hematopoietic progenitor kinase 1 (HPK1) is a member of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAP4K) family of protein serine/threonine kinases1,2 and is a negative regulator of T and B cell receptor signaling3. Inhibition of HPK1 is an attractive therapeutic strategy for immuno-oncology based treatment of solid tumors3. We present in vitro, in vivo, pharmacokinetic (PK) and early safety profiles of a novel and differentiated HPK1 inhibitor GRC 54276.

Methods GRC 54276 is our clinical candidate, designed and developed using intuitive medicinal chemistry design and supported by computational approaches. SAR studies included a battery of biochemical assays, functional read-outs and primary human in vitro T-cell activation assays. In vivo efficacy was demonstrated in syngeneic mouse tumor models, both as a single agent and combination with immune check-point blockers (ICB), mouse anti-CTLA4 antibody or Atezolizumab (human anti-PD-L1 antibody). ADME-PK properties was evaluated cross-species. GLP and non-GLP safety tolerability studies were conducted in mice and monkeys.

Results GRC 54276 demonstrated sub-nanomolar HPK1 potency, strong target engagement of pSLP76 inhibition, anti-tumor cytokines (IL-2 and IFN-γ) induction, reversal of immunosuppression by prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) or adenosine in both human and mouse systems. GRC 54276 demonstrated very strong tumor growth inhibition (TGI) efficacy as single agent and significantly enhanced TGI in combination with ICB antibodies anti-CTLA4 (CT26 model) or Atezolizumab (MC38-hPD-L1 model). The in vivo TGI efficacy mechanistically correlated with increased immune responses of cytokine induction, infiltration of cytotoxic T cells, tumor rejections accompanied by immune memory T cells induction. Pharmacokinetic profile of GRC 54276 included cross-species oral bioavailability (30 to 100%), predominant clearance by CYP3A4 with no significant inhibition of major CYP isoforms, negative activation potency in human PXR assay at several-fold over EDmax exposures. Safety profile demonstrated that GRC 54276 is non-genotoxic in the bone marrow micronucleus assay in mice and has no hERG liability. The no observed adverse effect levels in the 14-day and 17-day exploratory studies in mice and monkeys were 50 and 15 mg/kg/day, respectively.

Conclusions GRC 54276, our clinical candidate is potent, selective, orally bioavailable HPK1 inhibitor demonstrating strong single-agent and combination efficacy, low DDI liability accompanied by acceptable early safety profile in mice and monkeys. GRC 54276 is undergoing IND enabling studies to advance to Phase 1 clinical trial.

Acknowledgements We thank Vidya Kattige, Pooja Sawant, Shital More, Rahul B. Bhadane, Ajit Jagadale, Sanjay Gaikwad, Pramod Sagar for their contributions to the project

References 1. The EMBO Journal 1996 2. Genes and Development 1996 3. eLife 2020;9:e55122

Citation Format: Sravan Mandadi, Sanjib Das, Jagmohan Saini, Sachin S. Chaudhari, Murugan Chinnapattu, Ameya Deshpande, Dnyaneshwar Dahale, Malini Bajpai, Priyanka Pangre, Namrata Singh, Ekta Kashyap, Megha Marathe, Jiju Mani, Atul Akarte, Chandrasekhar Misra, Subhadip Das, Anuj Singh, Avratanu Das, Pandurang Lambade, Chaitanya Tirumalasetty, Raju Patole, Nilanjana Biswas, Vikas Karande, Heta Shah, Dayanidhi Behera, Pankaj Jain, Pavankumar Sancheti, Somesh Kakade, Pramod K. Pawar, Vinod KR, Venkatesha Udupa, Nagaraj Gowda, Pravin S. Iyer. IND-ready clinical candidate for HPK1 developed with excellent efficacy and safety profile [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr 1804.

848 Novel small molecule HPK1 inhibitor PCC-1 induces strong anti-tumor activity

Background

Hematopoietic progenitor kinase 1 (HPK1, MAP4K1), is a negative regulator of T and B cell receptor signaling.1 2 3 A strong anti-tumor immunogenic response and tumor rejection was observed in mice with HPK1 gene knocked out.3 Treatment of HPK1 kinase dead mice with immune check-point blockers (ICBs) demonstrated enhanced tumor growth inhibition.3 Hence, HPK1 is an attractive therapeutic strategy for immuno-oncology based treatment in cancers. In comparison to our previous HPK1 small molecule inhibitor, PCC,4 we present here a differentiated novel HPK1 inhibitor, PCC-1 with good anti-T cell kinases selectivity and stronger anti-tumor efficacy in CT26 tumor model. In addition, using the syngeneic model of MC38 expressing human PD-L1, we present for the first time, the combination efficacy of a HPK1 inhibitor with the clinical ICB, Atezolizumab.

Methods

Intuitive medicinal chemistry complemented by structure-based drug design was used to identify & develop potent inhibitors of HPK1 with optimal kinase selectivity, PK and in vivo efficacy profile. The SAR efforts were guided by biochemical assays, functional read-outs and primary human in vitro T-cell activation assays. In vivo target engagement and pharmacodynamic data was generated using CT26 and MC38-hPD-L1 tumor models.

Results

PCC-1 has sub-nanomolar HPK1 inhibition potency and strong target engagement resulting in pSLP76 inhibition, enhanced anti-tumor cytokine production of IL-2 and/or IFNgamma in Jurkat cells, human PBMCs and human whole blood. PCC-1 also demonstrated nanomolar potency in inducing a complete reversal of PGE2 or adenosine mediated immunosuppression. Oral dosing of PCC-1 as a single agent, induced strong tumor growth inhibition (TGI) in the syngeneic model of CT26 and MC38-hPD-L1 tumor models. Combination of PCC-1 with anti-CTLA4 in CT26 tumor model induced significantly greater TGI than anti-CTLA4 alone. Moreover, as a first, the combination of PCC-1 with clinical ICB, Atezolizumab in MC38-hPD-L1 induced enhanced rejection of tumors. These results strongly suggest PCC-1 as a promising candidate for HPK1 inhibition and as a combination partner with ICBs in clinic.

Conclusions

PCC-1 is a novel, orally active HPK1 inhibitor that demonstrates excellent stand-alone efficacy and enhances current immunotherapy efficacy. Further evaluation of PCC-1 is ongoing to advance towards clinic.

Acknowledgements

We thank Dnyaneshwar Dahale, Sanjay Patale, Sandip Patil, Vidya Kattige, Jiju Mani, Namrata Singh, Ekta Kashyap, Sandeep Thorat, Pankaj Jain and Pramod Sagar for their contributions to the project

Trial Registration

N/A

References

Kiefer F, et al. The EMBO Journal 1996.

Hu, et al. Genes and Development 1996.

Sawasdikosol, Burakoff. eLife 2020;9:e55122.

Sachin S Chaudhari, et al. Poster#1709, AACR Annual Meeting April-May 2021.

Ethics Approval

The studies involving animals have obtained ethics approval from Institutional Animal Ethics Committee (IAEC), The Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA), New Delhi, India, GRC/IAEC/472/2020-1. Participants of the studies have given informed consent before taking part.

Abstract 1709: Novel small molecule HPK1 inhibitor induces immunogenic anti-tumor effects

Background Hematopoietic progenitor kinase 1 (HPK1, MAP4K1), a member of the MAP4K family of protein serine/threonine kinases1,2 is a negative regulator of TCR and BCR3. Immunosuppressive mediators PGE2 and adenosine regulate activation of HPK13. In vivo anti-tumor activity by HPK1 gene deletion, kinase dead HPK1 and small molecule HPK1 inhibitors have been demonstrated in multiple immunogenic syngeneic tumor models3,4. Enhanced anti-tumor efficacy in these models was achieved by combining HPK1 inhibitors with immune check-point blockers (ICBs) like anti-PD-1, anti-PD-L1or anti-CTLA4 antibodies3,4. HPK1 inhibition is a target for immuno-oncology treatment in cancers responsive or non-responsive to current ICBs.

Methods Creative medicinal chemistry design complemented by structured-based support was used to identify & develop inhibitors of HPK1 with pico/nano-molar potency, optimal kinase selectivity, PK and efficacy profile. Our SAR efforts were guided by biochemical assays, functional read-outs and primary human in vitro T-cell activation assays. In vivo target engagement and pharmacodynamic data was generated using mouse models of the lung (LLC) and colon (MC38 and CT26) cancer.

Results We describe novel and potent HPK1 inhibitors that can inhibit pSLP76 and enhance IL-2 production in Jurkat cells, IL-2 and IFN-γ production in human PBMCs, whole blood and primary T cells and TNF-α production by dendritic cells following stimulation. A reversal of PGE2 or adenosine mediated immunosuppression was also achieved by the inhibitors. These compounds on oral dosing showed strong tumor growth inhibition (TGI) in syngeneic models refractory to ICBs (subcutaneous LLC) as well as responsive to ICBs (subcutaneous MC38 and CT26; orthotopic LLC). TGI was accompanied by the immune response of increased cytokine (IL-2/IFNγ) levels and tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs). Combination with ICBs induced enhanced TGI correlating with enhanced cytokine induction and TILs. We confirmed the immune-mediated mechanism of inhibitors by their lack of efficacy in immune-compromised mice. The lead compound demonstrated cardiac safety (hERG assay), lack of genotoxicity and very good safety margins in the mouse exploratory toxicology studies up to 28-days.

Conclusion We have discovered a novel, orally active HPK1 inhibitor that demonstrates excellent stand-alone efficacy in multiple tumor models and also offers the potential to enhance current immunotherapy regimens in both responsive and refractory cancers. Further evaluation of our lead molecule towards the clinic is underway.

Acknowledgements Sanjib D, Megha M, Jiju M, Sheetal K, Arti J, Swayam M, Srinivas K, Pradeep V, Vikram B, Abhay K, Jagmohan S, Ravi T, Mohammad Y, Rahul B, Ajit J, Sanjay G, Pramod S.

References 1. Kiefer et al., EMBO Journal 1996; 2. Hu et al., Genes and Development 1996; 3. Sawasdikosol and Burakoff. eLife 2020;9:e55122; 4. AACR Annual Meeting June 22-24 2020

Citation Format: Sachin S. Chaudhari, Malini Bajpai, Sravan Mandadi, Vidya G. Kattige, Sandeep Thorat, Varada Potdar, Priyanka Pangre, Pooja Sawant, Chandrasekhar Misra, Subhadip Das, Atul Akarte, Anuj Singh, Sandeep Mahankali, Pandurang Lambade, Avratanu Das, Raju Patole, Venkatesha Udupa, Pavankumar Sancheti, Pramod K. Pawar, Somesh Kakade, Vinod K. R, Nilanjana Biswas, Heta Shah, Dayanidhi Behera, Pankaj Jain, Nagaraj Gowda, Pravin S. Iyer. Novel small molecule HPK1 inhibitor induces immunogenic anti-tumor effects [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr 1709.