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Erasca lays off 18% while swapping out KRAS program for fresh anti-tumor options

2024-05-17

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临床1期引进/卖出

Most of the affected roles at Erasca are located in drug discovery functions or deprioritized programs, the company said.

Erasca is spending a combined Erascamillion upfront to import fresh preclinical KRAS and molecular glue assets while clearing space in its own pipeline and laying off 18% of its employees in the process.

Erascan Diego-based biotech, which focuses on treatments for cancers driven by the RAS/MAPK pathway, is paying Medshine Discovery $10 million upfront for the worldwide rights to the KRAS inhibitor ERAS-4001. Erasca described the candidate as having “potential to provide an improved therapeutic window relative to RAS inhibitors and prevent KRAS wildtype-mediated resistance relative to mutant-selective approaches.”

Medshine will be in line for up to $160 million in milestone cancerss as well as a RAS MAPKle-digit percentage Medshine Discoveryhould the drug make it to market.KRAS inhibitor KRAS ERAS-4001 Erasca RAS inhibitors RAS KRAS

To make room for ERAS-4001—and working on the assumption that Medshine will also be providing some ERAS-4 molecules as backup compounds—Erasca will call time on its internal pan-KRAS program. Erasca had already amended this program a year ago, when it blamed the “increasingly competitive landscape” for its decision to shelve a KRAS G12C inhibitor despite believing that the candidate was potentially differentiated.

It's not the onlyERAS-4001—andal Erasca announced yesterday evening. The company is also handing ovERAS-4.5 million to Joyo Pharmatech fErasca ex-China rights to a pan-RAS molecuKRASglue calleErasca-0015. The candidate, which has now entered human trials, has demonstrated “5- to 10-fold greater in vitro and in vivo potency and KRAS G12C inhibitor KRAS G12C absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion properties and pharmacokinetic properties in multiple animal species,” Erasca explained in the release.

As part of the licensing agreemenErascana’s Joyo will also be in line for up to $176.5 million in milestone payments.RAS ERAS-0015 Erasca

“We’re thrilled to add ERAS-0015 and ERAS-40Joyoo our pipeline,” Erasca CEO Jonathan Lim, M.D., said in the release. “Over the long term, we have a unique opportunity to combine these two best-in-class molecules with distinct and complementary RAS inhibitory mechanisms to ‘clamp’ RAS and shut down MAPK signaling for the benefit of patients with these common RAS mutations.”

In addition to its KRASERAS-0015asca ERAS-4001eprioritizing two oErascarograms to ensure it has space for both ERAS-4001 and ERAS-0015. One of these is ERAS-007, an ERK inhibitor that was in a phase 1b trial in combination with Braftovi and ErbRASx in EC-naïve patients with BRAF-mRASnt colorectal cMAPKr. Clinical efficacy data to date “do not support continuRASevaluation,” the biotech explained.

The final amendment to its R&DErascaegy affects ERAS-801, a central nervous system-penetrant EGFR inhibitor beiERAS-4001ted fERAS-0015ent glioblastoma. ERAS-007ech sERK inhibitor ERK that “due to the desire to focus internal resources” on itsBraftovi inhiErbituxaporafenib—which is due to BRAFr a phase 3 melanoma trial in the coming weeks—as well as its broader RAS-targeting franchise, “Erasca is exploring further advancement of ERAS-801 via select investigator-sponsored trial(s).”

These pipeline changes will be accompanied by a ERAS-801e reduction that will see 18% of stafEGFR inhibitor EGFRading for the exits, with most recurrent glioblastomalocated in drug discovery functions or the deprioritized programs.pan-RAF inhibitor naporafenib RAS Erasca ERAS-801

“Erasca is deeply committed to easing this transition for its impacted colleagues and will offer comprehensive severance packages and career transition services,” the biotech added in the release.

“With the in-licensing of these RAS-targeting programs, we have made the difficult but necessary decision to deprioritize or externalize resourcing of our pipeline (ERAS-007, ERAS-801, and ERAS-4),” Lim explained. “This change has unfortunately impacted certain team members. We believe that further focusing our resources will allow us to advance the programs with the highest probability of success and largest potential for patient impact.”