Oxford biotech Exscientia adds two drugs to cancer pipeline

Published by

Daniel Face

iStock

Exscientia, a biotech headquartered in The Oxford Science Park, has inherited two candidate oncology drugs from its research and development alliance with Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS).

They could be what the firm needs to secure its goal of having four drugs at the clinical trial stage in 2024. Two compounds with partners Evotec and GT Apeiron, as well as another with BMS, are already in the pipeline.

LSD1 inhibitor EXS74539 (‘539) and MALT1 protease inhibitor EXS73565 (‘565) are both designed to hit targets which drug developers have previously struggled to reach, as other compounds are either unsafe or liable to interact with other drugs used in cancer treatment.

The pair originated from a partnership with Celgene, now owned by BMS. Discovered in 2019 using Exscientia’s AI platform, they were quickly taken from the programme start to lead selection stage, but fell to the wayside after two years as part of a ‘routine portfolio prioritisation’.

Since then, LSD1 inhibition has increasingly emerged as a potential target for oncology, since the LSD1 protein is found at elevated levels in various blood cancers and solid tumour types. This has prompted renewed interest in the ‘539 compound.

A related drug from Imago Biosciences was licensed by multinational pharmaceutical firm Merck & Co last year in a deal valued at $1.4 billion, with competitors in the category including Oryzon Genomics and Jubilant Therapeutics.

Exscientia’s own ‘539 could find a niche between current related compounds, which either irreversibly deactivate LSD1, or undergo a reversible process which barely penetrates the central nervous system. The former poses a safety risk, while the latter fails to address brain metastases associated with in advanced cancers.

The MALT1 protease inhibitor ‘565, Exscientia’s other recent acquisition, was similarly designed to overcome a common limitation. At present, compounds in the category are often prone to potentially harmful drug-drug interactions.

Johnson & Johnson, Monopteros Therapeutics, and Schrödinger each currently have MALT1-targeting drugs in early development. Exscientia anticipates that its ‘565 compound could be used as part of therapy for B cell lymphomas, alongside the BTK and BCL-2 inhibitors typical to current treatments.

Professor Andrew Hopkins, Chief Executive at Exscientia, said: “We are really excited about the potential of ‘539 and ‘565 in a broad range of haematologic and solid tumours.

“With three existing clinical programmes already in the pipeline, we feel very confident we will meet our goal of four clinical stage compounds in 2024. Over the course of 2023, we expect to provide more details on these programmes, as well as on our broader internal and partnered pipeline.”

Daniel Face

Born and raised in Berkshire, Dan fell into journalism after completing his bachelor’s degree in English at UCL. Writing for The Business Magazine and local Biz News sites has given him the opportunity to chat with all manner of small business owners and share their success stories with a wider audience. Outside of work, Dan enjoys live music, board games and quiz shows, and is making a slow but persistent effort to learn Spanish.