SpringWorks Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: SWTX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing life-changing medicines for patients with severe rare diseases and cancer, today announced that the first patient has been dosed in a Phase 1b clinical trial evaluating nirogacestat, an investigational gamma secretase inhibitor (GSI) being developed by SpringWorks
STAMFORD, Conn., April 01, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SpringWorks Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: SWTX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing life-changing medicines for patients with severe rare diseases and cancer, today announced that the first patient has been dosed in a Phase 1b clinical trial evaluating nirogacestat, an investigational gamma secretase inhibitor (GSI) being developed by SpringWorks, in combination with teclistamab, an investigational bispecific antibody targeting B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) and CD3 being developed by Janssen Research & Development, LLC (Janssen), in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.
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 the cell surface density of BCMA and reduce levels of soluble BCMA, which may enhance the activity of BCMA-targeted therapies.
“We are very pleased that patients have been dosed in this study, which represents the first clinical study combining nirogacestat with a bispecific antibody in patients with multiple myeloma,” said Saqib Islam, Chief Executive Officer of SpringWorks Therapeutics. “We are advancing nirogacestat as a cornerstone of BCMA combination therapy across modalities and look forward to the enrollment of patients into multiple Phase 1 studies and generating data with our BCMA collaborators in 2021.”
The Phase 1b trial (NCT04722146), which is part of a multi-arm trial being conducted by Janssen, is an open-label study to evaluate the safety, tolerability and preliminary efficacy of nirogacestat in combination with teclistamab in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. The trial is being advanced pursuant to a clinical collaboration and supply agreement that SpringWorks entered into with Janssen Biotech, Inc. in September 2020. Under the terms of the agreement, Janssen is assuming all costs associated with the Phase 1b study, other than expenses related to the supply of nirogacestat. SpringWorks has formed a joint oversight committee with Janssen to coordinate the sharing of study results, regulatory and other activities in connection with the study.
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 five collaborations with industry-leading BCMA developers to evaluate nirogacestat in combinations across modalities, including with an antibody-drug conjugate, two CAR T cell therapies and two bispecific antibodies. 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.
About SpringWorks Therapeutics
SpringWorks is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company applying a precision medicine approach to acquiring, developing and commercializing life-changing medicines for underserved patient populations suffering from devastating rare diseases and cancer. SpringWorks has a differentiated portfolio of small molecule targeted oncology product candidates and is advancing two potentially registrational clinical trials in rare tumor types, as well as several other programs addressing highly prevalent, genetically defined cancers. SpringWorks’ strategic approach and operational excellence in clinical development have enabled it to rapidly advance its two lead product candidates into late-stage clinical trials while simultaneously entering into multiple shared-value partnerships with industry leaders to expand its portfolio. For more information, please visit www.springworkstx.com, and follow @SpringWorksTx on Twitter and LinkedIn.
SpringWorks Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 relating to our business, operations, and financial conditions, including but not limited to current beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding the future of our business, future plans and strategies, our development plans, our preclinical and clinical results, and other future conditions. Words such as, but not limited to, “look forward to,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “would,” “should” and “could,” and similar expressions or words, identify forward-looking statements. New risks and uncertainties may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible to predict all risks and uncertainties. Any forward-looking statements in this press release are based on management’s current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and important factors that may cause actual events or results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements contained in this press release, including, without limitation, risks relating to: (i) the success and timing of our product development activities, including the initiation and completion of SpringWorks’ clinical trials, (ii) the fact that interim data from a clinical study may not be predictive of the final results of such study or the results of other ongoing or future studies, (iii) the success and timing of our collaboration partners’ ongoing and planned clinical trials, (iv) our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval of any of our product candidates, (v) our plans to research, discover and develop additional product candidates, (vi) our ability to enter into collaborations for the development of new product candidates, (vii) our ability to establish manufacturing capabilities, and our and our collaboration partners’ abilities to manufacture our product candidates and scale production, (viii) our ability to meet any specific milestones set forth herein, and (ix) uncertainties and assumptions regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on SpringWorks’ business, operations, clinical trials, supply chain, strategy, goals and anticipated timelines. Except as required by applicable law, we do not plan to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein, whether as a result of any new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise. Although we believe the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Accordingly, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. For further information regarding the risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause differences between SpringWorks’ expectations and actual results, you should review the “Risk Factors” in Item 1A of Part I of SpringWorks’ Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, as well as discussions of potential risks, uncertainties and other important factors in SpringWorks’ subsequent filings.
SpringWorks Media/Investor Contact:
Kim Diamond
Vice President, Communications and Investor Relations
203-561-1646
kdiamond@springworkstx.com
