Targeting a Broad Spectrum of KRAS-Mutant Cancers
Hanmi Pharmaceutical's "SOS1-KRAS Interaction Inhibitor (HM101207)," which is being developed as a next-generation targeted anticancer innovative drug, has attracted attention as a promising candidate for global anticancer combination strategies.
No Youngsoo, Director of the ONCO Clinical Team at Hanmi Pharmaceutical, presenting the oral presentation of HM101207, an SOS1-KRAS interaction inhibitor being developed as a next-generation targeted anticancer innovative drug. Hanmi Pharmaceutical
Hanmi Pharmaceutical announced on September 26 that it participated in the 7th International Conference on RAS-Targeted Drug Development, held in Boston, USA, from September 16 to 18 (local time), and presented the preclinical research results of HM101207 through an oral presentation.
HM101207, presented by Hanmi Pharmaceutical, is a novel inhibitor that blocks the binding between the "SOS1" protein, which plays a key role in the signal transduction cascade, and KRAS, in order to prevent the activation of the lethal "KRAS mutation" that causes cancer.
KRAS mutations are found at a very high frequency in cancers such as lung cancer, colorectal cancer, and pancreatic cancer. However, small molecule inhibitors targeting these mutations are currently limited to the G12C mutation. Furthermore, although KRAS G12C inhibitors have been approved only for lung and colorectal cancers, their limited clinical efficacy and resistance issues have highlighted the need for research into mechanisms to overcome these challenges and for combination therapy strategies.
As a result, some patients are forced to rely on monotherapy, and many patients with KRAS mutations do not achieve sufficient therapeutic effects, indicating that there remains a significant unmet medical need.
HM101207 can bind to various KRAS mutations and suppress cancer growth by reducing signal activation. It is expected to overcome resistance induced by the administration of already approved KRAS G12C inhibitors, RTK inhibitors, or MAPK pathway inhibitors.
At this conference, Hanmi Pharmaceutical presented research results demonstrating the cell growth inhibitory activity of HM101207 in various cancer cell lines with not only KRAS mutations but also PTPN11 and NF1 mutations. In xenograft mouse models with KRAS mutations, combination therapy with KRAS G12C inhibitors or MAPK pathway inhibitors showed superior antitumor efficacy compared to competing SOS1 drugs.
In particular, HM101207 demonstrated a strong synergistic anticancer effect when used in combination with various RAS-off inhibitors. With superior target specificity and minimized drug-drug interaction characteristics compared to other competing SOS1 drugs currently in development, HM101207 is expected to be utilized in global anticancer combination strategies.
No Youngsoo, Director of the ONCO Clinical Team at Hanmi Pharmaceutical, stated, "We plan to successfully advance the clinical development of HM101207, which embodies the research and development capabilities and expertise we have accumulated over many years of RAS/RAF mutation-targeted anticancer drug development." He added, "We will demonstrate the solid future value of Hanmi's innovative anticancer drugs, which serve as a core pillar of our new drug development, with advanced research results at global conferences in the second half of this year."
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