ORIC Pharmaceuticals Expands Precision Oncology Pipeline with Exclusive Worldwide License to Highly Selective Allosteric PRC2...
August 05 2020 - 4:05PM
ORIC Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ORIC), a clinical stage
oncology company focused on developing treatments that address
mechanisms of therapeutic resistance, today announced it has
entered into an exclusive worldwide license agreement with Mirati
Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: MRTX), a leading targeted oncology
company dedicated to advancing novel therapeutics. ORIC will
have exclusive worldwide rights for the development activities and
commercialization of a small molecule allosteric inhibitor program
directed towards the polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2), a
validated oncogenic target across several cancers with promising
therapeutic potential in prostate cancer, among other
indications.
“We are excited to add another program to our pipeline that is
well aligned with our mission of overcoming cancer resistance and
our expertise in hormone-dependent cancers, key tumor dependencies
and precision oncology,” said Jacob Chacko, M.D., president and
chief executive officer of ORIC. “Our lead program, ORIC-101,
and the rest of our innovative, wholly-owned pipeline of precision
medicines have thus far been internally generated by our fully
integrated drug discovery and development team. This PRC2
inhibitor is the first externally sourced program we’ve added to
our pipeline and, based on work conducted at ORIC, we believe
Mirati’s novel approach in targeting PRC2 may address an area of
significant unmet medical need in treatment-resistant prostate
cancer.”
“We are pleased to enter into this agreement with ORIC, which
enables the continued advancement of Mirati’s PRC2 inhibitors” said
James G. Christensen, Ph.D., executive vice president and chief
scientific officer of Mirati. “With ORIC’s focus on novel
treatments for prostate cancer, ORIC is an ideal partner to further
the research and development of this program.”
Mirati has developed highly selective allosteric inhibitors of
PRC2, including a lead candidate now designated as ORIC-944, that
target its regulatory embryonic ectoderm development (EED) subunit
and may represent a best-in-class approach for the treatment of
advanced prostate cancer. Prior to entering into the license
agreement with Mirati, ORIC generated compelling in vivo efficacy
data in enzalutamide-resistant prostate cancer models with
ORIC-944. ORIC expects to file an IND for ORIC-944 in the
second half of 2021.
Under the terms of the agreement, in exchange for an exclusive
worldwide license to develop and commercialize Mirati’s PRC2
inhibitor program, ORIC paid to Mirati a one-time non-cash payment
of $20 million in shares of ORIC common stock. The number of
shares issued to Mirati was based on a price of $34.00 per share,
representing a premium of 10% to the 60-day trailing
volume-weighted average trading price of ORIC’s common stock.
ORIC is not subject to any future milestone or royalty
payment obligations to Mirati. Webcast and Conference
Call
ORIC will host a webcast and conference call today, August 5th,
at 4:30 p.m. ET. To participate in the conference call,
please dial (866) 393-4306 (domestic) or (734) 385-2616
(international) and refer to conference ID: 5167646. Please
join the conference call at least 15 minutes early to register.
A live webcast will be available in the Investors section of
the company's website at www.oricpharma.com. The webcast will
be archived for 60 days following the presentation.
About PRC2
The polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) has methyltransferase
activity required for long term epigenetic silencing of chromatin
and plays a critical role in cancer. PRC2 core subunits EED,
EZH2, and SUZ12 function as part of a complex to selectively
repress gene expression by regulating the transfer of methyl groups
to a distinct lysine residue on histone proteins associated with
DNA. Overexpression and/or mutations in PRC2 can result in
aberrant methylation activity, leading to tumorigenesis in multiple
solid tumors and hematological malignancies. In particular,
PRC2 dysfunction can lead to decreased expression of tumor
suppressor genes and other target genes that have been associated
with poor prognosis in patients with metastatic prostate
cancer.
First-generation PRC2 inhibitors, which target the catalytic
EZH2 subunit, have demonstrated clinical activity in several
cancers, and one has been approved by the FDA for the treatment of
epithelioid sarcoma and follicular lymphoma. More recent
scientific advances have focused on developing allosteric
inhibitors of PRC2, which may help to address several limitations
of first-generation PRC2 inhibitors. Research conducted at
ORIC demonstrated that allosteric inhibitors of PRC2 are more
efficacious in treatment-resistant prostate cancer models than has
been reported by traditional non-allosteric PRC2 inhibitors.
About ORIC Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
ORIC Pharmaceuticals is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical
company dedicated to improving patients’ lives by Overcoming
Resistance In Cancer. ORIC’s lead product candidate,
ORIC-101, is a potent and selective small molecule antagonist of
the glucocorticoid receptor, which has been linked to resistance to
multiple classes of cancer therapeutics across a variety of solid
tumors. ORIC-101 is currently in two separate Phase 1b trials
of ORIC-101 in combination with (1) Xtandi (enzalutamide) in
metastatic prostate cancer and (2) Abraxane (nab-paclitaxel) in
advanced or metastatic solid tumors. ORIC’s other product
candidates include (1) ORIC-533, an orally bioavailable small
molecule inhibitor of CD73, a key node in the adenosine pathway
believed to play a central role in resistance to chemotherapy- and
immunotherapy-based treatment regimens, and (2) ORIC-944, an
allosteric inhibitor of the polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2)
via the EED subunit, being developed for prostate cancer.
Beyond these three product candidates, ORIC is also
developing multiple precision medicines targeting other hallmark
cancer resistance mechanisms. ORIC has offices in South San
Francisco and San Diego, California. For more information,
please go to www.oricpharma.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements as that
term is defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Statements in this press release that are not purely historical are
forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements
include, among other things, statements regarding the ability of
ORIC-944 to treat prostate cancer; the potential benefits of and
activity under the license agreement between ORIC and
Mirati; preclinical data and development plans underlying
ORIC-944; the planned filing of an IND for ORIC-944; the potential
best-in-class nature of ORIC-944; plans underlying clinical trials
and development for ORIC-101; the potential advantages of ORIC’s
product candidates; statements by ORIC’s president and chief
executive officer; and statements by Mirati’s executive vice
president and chief scientific officer. Words such as
“believes,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “expects,” “intends,” “will,”
“goal,” “potential” and similar expressions are intended to
identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking
statements contained herein are based upon ORIC’s current
expectations and involve assumptions that may never materialize or
may prove to be incorrect. Actual results could differ
materially from those projected in any forward-looking statements
due to numerous risks and uncertainties, including but not limited
to: risks associated with the process of discovering, developing
and commercializing drugs that are safe and effective for use as
human therapeutics and operating as an early clinical stage
company; ORIC’s ability to develop, initiate or complete
preclinical studies and clinical trials for, obtain approvals for
and commercialize any of its product candidates; changes in ORIC’s
plans to develop and commercialize its product candidates; the
potential for clinical trials of ORIC-101, ORIC-944 or any other
product candidates to differ from preclinical, preliminary or
expected results; negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on
ORIC’s operations, including clinical trials; the risk of the
occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could
give rise to the termination of the license agreement; risks
related to the effect of the announcement of the transaction on
ORIC’s business relationships, operating results and business
generally; ORIC’s ability to raise any additional funding it will
need to continue to pursue its business and product development
plans; regulatory developments in the United States and foreign
countries; ORIC’s reliance on third parties, including contract
manufacturers and contract research organizations; ORIC’s ability
to obtain and maintain intellectual property protection for its
product candidates; the loss of key scientific or management
personnel; competition in the industry in which ORIC operates;
general economic and market conditions; and other risks.
Information regarding the foregoing and additional risks may be
found in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in ORIC’s Quarterly
Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (the “SEC”) on August 5, 2020, and ORIC’s future reports
to be filed with the SEC. These forward-looking statements
are made as of the date of this press release, and ORIC assumes no
obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update
the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in
the forward-looking statements, except as required by law.
Contact:Dominic Piscitelli, Chief Financial
Officer dominic.piscitelli@oricpharma.cominfo@oricpharma.com
Mirati Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MRTX)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
Mirati Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MRTX)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024