Phase I Trial For BeiGene’s PARP Inhibitor Begins

BeiGene’s PARP inhibitor BGB-290 could be an important treatment for common cancers such as gastric cancer and primary brain tumors.

AsianScientist (Jul 9, 2014) – BeiGene Co. Ltd., an oncology company focused on developing targeted and immune-oncology therapeutics, has dosed the first patient in a Phase I study of BGB-290 for the treatment of cancer. BGB-290 is an investigational selective inhibitor of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), an enzyme family which is involved in a number of cellular processes, including DNA repair and programmed cell death.

Small-molecule inhibitors of PARP represent a class of anticancer agents that exert their cytotoxic effect by modulating the PARP activity and traping PARP proteins on damaged DNA. A number of PARP inhibitors have demonstrated sustained antitumor responses as a single agent in patients with BRCA1- or BRCA2-mutant tumors with good safety profiles.

BGB-290 is the second compound in BeiGene’s two-asset collaboration with Merck, which was established in 2013 with the goal of leveraging Merck’s global oncology development and commercialization expertise. The first compound, BGB-283, a second-generation B-RAF inhibitor, entered a Phase I study in November 2013.

“We are excited to begin dosing in the first-in-human trial of BGB-290, which we believe has the potential to be a new and better PARP inhibitor option for the treatment of cancer,” said John V. Oyler, CEO of BeiGene.

“We are hopeful that BGB-290 will demonstrate the potential to offer significant advantages over other drugs in this class, and could become an important part of the treatment options for patients with common cancers including small cell lung cancer, gastric cancer, primary brain tumors, and some ovarian and breast cancers,” commented Dr. Michael Millward, lead investigator for the trial and Cancer Council Professor of Clinical Cancer Research at the University of Western Australia.

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Source: BeiGene.
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