Genmab deals another blow to PTK7

PTK7 has become increasingly hot, but the target has now seen a second discontinuation, this time from Genmab. The company recently disclosed on clinicaltrials.gov the discontinuation of GEN1107, an ADC it gained via the $1.8bn acquisition of ProfoundBio last year. Genmab only said that the benefit-risk profile of the project, which was in a phase 1/2 solid tumour trial, didn’t support continuing development. The move comes nearly two years after Pfizer and AbbVie discontinued their PTK7-targeting ADC, cofetuzumab pelidotin. This looks like bad news for other PTK7 ADC contenders, including Lilly, Day One and Kelun. The Chinese group has previously said that its hopeful, SKB518, is a “key product” in its pipeline, while Day One paid MabCare $55m up front to license DAY301 outside China. However, there could still be hope for these PTK7 rivals: cofetuzumab pelidotin and GEN1107 both used tubulin inhibitor payloads, while DAY301, SKB518 and Lilly’s LY4175408 utilise topoisomerase 1 inhibitors, which have become more popular recently. There is also a slew of preclinical PTK7 projects in development, including Whitehawk’s HWK-007 and Ideaya’s IDE034, licensed from Biocytogen, which also targets B7-H3. As for Genmab, the main driver of the ProfoundBio buy, rinatabart sesutecan, is still in play.

Clinical-stage PTK7-targeting ADCs 

Source: OncologyPipeline & clinicaltrials.gov.