Ikena Oncology has developed IK-930, a novel TEAD inhibitor, to treat patients with unresectable NF2-deficient malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM).
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted this novel drug Fast Track designation.
Around 40% of patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma have NF2-deficient disease. In the treatment of this patient population, a combination of standard-of-care options such as surgery, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and radiation are frequently used.
However, this fast track designation is only for patients with unresectable disease, which means surgery is not an option.
IK-930 is a novel targeted approach to addressing the underlying biology of cancer pathogenesis caused by genetic alterations. IK-930 binds to TEAD transcription factors, preventing the transcription of multiple genes in the Hippo pathway known to promote cancer progression.
IK-930 is currently being tested in a Phase 1 clinical trial in patients with advanced solid tumors that have or do not have Hippo pathway gene mutations for safety, tolerability, and preliminary efficacy.
