Agreements

Date: 2018-02-07

Type of information: Licensing agreement

Compound: derazantinib

Company: ArQule (USA - MA) Roivant Sciences (USA)

Therapeutic area: Cancer - Oncology - Liver diseases - Hepatic diseases

Type agreement: licensing

Action mechanism:

• multi-kinase inhibitor. Derazantinib is a potent, orally administered inhibitor of the fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) family, a key driver of cell proliferation, differentiation, and migration. In a Phase 1/2 study in patients with iCCA harboring FGFR2 gene fusions, treatment with derazantinib resulted in an objective response rate of 21%, nearly 3 times higher than standard-of-care chemotherapy. ArQule is currently conducting a registrational study with derazantinib in patients with FGFR2 fusion-positive second-line iCCA. The open-label single-arm trial is recruiting in both the United States and Europe with objective response rate as the primary endpoint.

Disease: intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA)

Details:

• • On February 7 , 2018, Roivant Sciences and ArQule announced the initiation of a collaboration to pursue the development of derazantinib, a pan-FGFR (fibroblast growth factor receptor) inhibitor, in Greater China. As part of the collaboration, ArQule has granted a Roivant subsidiary an exclusive license to develop and commercialize derazantinib in the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.
• ArQule is currently conducting a registrational trial for derazantinib in the United States and Europe as a potential treatment for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA), a form of biliary tract cancer. The People’s Republic of China has one of the world’s highest incidences of iCCA, where it is the second most common form of liver cancer. Roivant intends to pursue the development of derazantinib in China for the treatment of iCCA while also pursuing further development in other tumor types with high rates of FGFR mutation.

      About Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is the most common biliary malignancy and the second most common hepatic malignancy after hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).1 Depending on the anatomic location, CCA is classified as intrahepatic (iCCA), perihilar (pCCA), and extrahepatic (eCCA). iCCA originates from the intrahepatic biliary ductal system and forms an intrahepatic mass. iCCA is an aggressive cancer, with a median 5-year survival rate of 15% for patients diagnosed with early-stage disease.2 In China, the incidence of cholangiocarcinoma is more than 7 cases per 100,000 people, and the majority of cases are intrahepatic.3 About ArQule ArQule is a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the research and development of targeted therapeutics to treat cancers and rare diseases. ArQule’s mission is to discover, develop and commercialize novel small molecule drugs in areas of high unmet need that will dramatically extend and improve the lives of our patients. Our clinical-stage pipeline consists of five drug candidates, all of which are in targeted, biomarker-defined patient populations, making ArQule a leader among companies our size in precision medicine. ArQule’s proprietary pipeline includes: Derazantinib, a multi-kinase inhibitor designed to preferentially inhibit the fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) family, in a registrational trial for iCCA and in phase 1b for multiple oncology indications; Miransertib (ARQ 092), a selective inhibitor of the AKT serine/threonine kinase, in a phase 1/2 company sponsored study for Overgrowth Diseases, in a phase 1 study for ultra-rare Proteus syndrome conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), as well as in multiple oncology indications; ARQ 751, a next generation AKT inhibitor, in phase 1 for patients with AKT1 and PI3K mutations; and ARQ 761, a ß-lapachone analog being evaluated as a promoter of NQO1-mediated programmed cancer cell necrosis, in phase 1/2 in multiple oncology indications in partnership with the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. In addition, we have advanced ARQ 531, an investigational, orally bioavailable, potent and reversible inhibitor of both wild type and C481S-mutant BTK, in phase 1 for patients with B-cell malignancies refractory to other therapeutic options. ArQule’s current discovery efforts are focused on the identification and development of novel kinase inhibitors, leveraging the Company’s proprietary library of compounds. You can follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Financial terms:

• Deal terms include an upfront payment to ArQule of $3 million and an additional $2.5 million development milestone within the first year. ArQule is also eligible for regulatory and commercial milestones and royalties on future sales of derazantinib in Greater China.

Latest news:

Is general: Yes