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HK Inno.N speeds up clinical research on its NSCLC candidate
by Nho, Byung Chul Mar 28, 2024 05:52am
On the 27th, HK inno.N announced that it will present the non-clinical trial results of its next-generation allosteric EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitor ("EGFR-TKI") candidate through a poster presentation at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2024 from April 5 to 10 in the United States. e AACR is one of the world's three most prestigious cancer conferences along with the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO), and annually attracts a large number of experts from around the world to share their latest cancer research findings. At the conference, HK Inno.N will present the results of its nonclinical study on its ‘allosteric EGFR-TKI drug’ that targets patients with the L858R gene mutation in non-small cell lung cancer. HK Inno.N is studying the use of IN-119873, a fourth-generation targeted anticancer drug for patients with L858R mutations who have shown resistance to existing first-line treatments for NSCLC. Unlike existing therapies that target the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) binding site, which is the energy source of cancer cells, HK Inno.N's IN-119873 targets the allosteric (one of the protein sites) binding site of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). IN-119873 is expected to show superior efficacy in EGFR mutations caused by existing first-, second-, and third-generation EGFR-TKI drugs, and be synergistic in combination with third-generation EGFR-TKIs. The interest in next-generation allosteric EGFR-TKIs has been rising with a major global pharmaceutical company recently acquiring a third-party candidate with the same mechanism of action for approximately USD 540 million (KRW 720 billion). According to global market prospects, the market for NSCLC drugs has reached KRW 30 trillion by 2022. Of this, the market for drugs that treat EGFR mutated NSCLC accounts for around KRW 5 trillion, and osimertinib, a third-generation EGFR-TKI drug, accounts for more than half of this market. Bong-Tae Kim, head of HK inno.N's New Drug Development Division, said, "We plan to present our EGFR-TKI research results to domestic and international companies and experts at AACR and explore potential partnership opportunities. Our goal is to complete the nonclinical study of IN-119873 and file an application to initiate Phase I IND within the year." HK Inno. N introduced IN-119873, a next-generation allosteric EGFR-TKI candidate, after bringing in the candidate substance from the Korea research Institute of Chemical Technology and being nominated as a project to be supported by the National Drug Development Program in August last year. In September last year, the company signed a collaborative research agreement with Dong-A ST on studying a ‘next-generation EGFR inhibitor,' to develop an existing allosteric EGFR inhibitor into an EGFR inhibitor degrader, and have continued to research and develop targeted anti-cancer drugs for non-small cell lung cancer.