1. Academic Validation
  2. TPX-0131, a Potent CNS-penetrant, Next-generation Inhibitor of Wild-type ALK and ALK-resistant Mutations

TPX-0131, a Potent CNS-penetrant, Next-generation Inhibitor of Wild-type ALK and ALK-resistant Mutations

  • Mol Cancer Ther. 2021 Sep;20(9):1499-1507. doi: 10.1158/1535-7163.MCT-21-0221.
Brion W Murray 1 Dayong Zhai 2 Wei Deng 2 Xin Zhang 2 Jane Ung 2 Vivian Nguyen 2 Han Zhang 2 Maria Barrera 2 Ana Parra 2 Jessica Cowell 2 Dong J Lee 2 Herve Aloysius 2 Evan Rogers 2
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Turning Point Therapeutics, San Diego, California. brion.murray@tptherapeutics.com.
  • 2 Turning Point Therapeutics, San Diego, California.
Abstract

Since 2011, with the approval of crizotinib and subsequent approval of four additional targeted therapies, anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) inhibitors have become important treatments for a subset of patients with lung Cancer. Each generation of ALK inhibitor showed improvements in terms of central nervous system (CNS) penetration and potency against wild-type (WT) ALK, yet a key continued limitation is their susceptibility to resistance from ALK active-site mutations. The solvent front mutation (G1202R) and gatekeeper mutation (L1196M) are major resistance mechanisms to the first two generations of inhibitors while patients treated with the third-generation ALK inhibitor lorlatinib often experience progressive disease with multiple mutations on the same allele (mutations in cis, compound mutations). TPX-0131 is a compact macrocyclic molecule designed to fit within the ATP-binding boundary to inhibit ALK fusion proteins. In cellular assays, TPX-0131 was more potent than all five approved ALK inhibitors against WT ALK and many types of ALK resistance mutations, e.g., G1202R, L1196M, and compound mutations. In biochemical assays, TPX-0131 potently inhibited (IC50 <10 nmol/L) WT ALK and 26 ALK mutants (single and compound mutations). TPX-0131, but not lorlatinib, caused complete tumor regression in ALK (G1202R) and ALK compound mutation-dependent xenograft models. Following repeat oral administration of TPX-0131 to rats, brain levels of TPX-0131 were approximately 66% of those observed in plasma. Taken together, preclinical studies show that TPX-0131 is a CNS-penetrant, next-generation ALK inhibitor that has potency against WT ALK and a spectrum of acquired resistance mutations, especially the G1202R solvent front mutation and compound mutations, for which there are currently no effective therapies.

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