Turning Point Therapeutics Presents Preclinical Data For Novel RET Inhibitor Candidate, TPX-0046

Poster Presentation at American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting Highlights TPX-0046 Potent Inhibition of Wildtype RET and RET Mutations

SAN DIEGO, May 29, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Turning Point Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: TPTX), a precision oncology company developing next-generation therapies that target genetic drivers of cancer, today at the ASCO Annual Meeting presented a preclinical update for its novel, clinical-stage, selective RET-inhibitor drug candidate, TPX-0046.

In the updated preclinical studies comparing proxy molecules for approved and investigational RET inhibitors, TPX-0046 demonstrated potent in vitro and in vivo activity against a range of RET alterations, including greater potency against solvent-front mutations, G810S, G810R, G810C and G810N.

A phase 1/2 trial of TPX-0046 in RET TKI-naïve and -pretreated patients is ongoing.

“TPX-0046 was designed as a potent RET inhibitor with the potential to address TKI-naïve and RET inhibitor-resistant RET-dependent cancers,” said Alexander Drilon, M.D., medical oncologist and acting chief of the Early Drug Development Service, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and a principal investigator for the TPX-0046 clinical study. “Specifically, in preclinical studies, TPX-0046 inhibited RET solvent front mutations that have been observed in biopsies from patients with progression on a prior RET inhibitor. Developing a next-generation RET inhibitor is an unmet need.”

In enzymatic and cellular assays presented at ASCO, TPX-0046 was potent against wildtype RET and multiple RET mutations and fusions.TPX-0046 also demonstrated antitumor activity in RET-driven cell-derived and patient-derived xenograft tumor models, including those that harbor a RET G810R solvent-front mutation.

The ongoing Phase 1/2 open-label, single-arm, multi-center clinical study of TPX-0046 is enrolling TKI-naïve and -pretreated patients with RET-altered non-small-cell lung, thyroid, and other advanced cancers in a Phase 1 dose escalation study of approximately 50 patients, and Phase 2 expansion study of approximately 300 patients with multiple cohorts, to assess safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics (PK) and clinical activity. The study design allows intra-patient dose escalation based on tolerability. For more information, visit clinicaltrials.gov and search NCT04161391.