Benzinga | Mar 10, 2021 07:02AM EST

BeiGene Initiates Phase 1 Clinical Trial for HPK1 Inhibitor BGB-15025

BeiGene, Ltd. (NASDAQ:BGNE, HKEX: 06160))), a commercial-stage biotechnology company focused on developing and commercializing innovative medicines worldwide, today announced that the first patient has been dosed in a Phase 1 clinical trial of BGB-15025, its investigational hematopoietic progenitor kinase 1 (HPK1) inhibitor. BGB-15025 is designed to be a potent and highly selective small molecule oral inhibitor of HPK1, a kinase downstream of the T cell receptor (TCR) signaling pathway that is believed to play a key role in T cell activation.

"We are incredibly proud of BeiGene's research organization, which now has over 450 people, and its ability to discover not only potentially best-in-class cancer treatments but also investigational agents like BGB-15025, which we believe to be among the first HPK1 inhibitors to enter the clinic and represent a novel immuno-oncology approach targeting T cell activation to fight cancer growth," commented Lai Wang, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Head of Global Research, Clinical Operations & Biometrics and APAC Clinical Development at BeiGene. "We believe that the unique nature of BGB-15025 and the HPK1 pathway provides us with a compelling scientific rationale for investigating it as a monotherapy and in combination with our anti-PD-1 antibody, tislelizumab. We are excited to advance its clinical development globally."

This first-in-human Phase 1 trial (NCT04649385) will assess the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and preliminary antitumor activity of BGB-15025 alone and in combination with tislelizumab in patients with advanced solid tumors. This trial will be conducted in multiple countries globally.