Benzinga | Mar 22, 2021 04:21PM EDT

Scholar Rock Announces Publication Of Preclinical Pharmacology, Pharmacokinetics, And Safety Profile Of SRK-181 In The International Journal Of Toxicology

Scholar Rock (NASDAQ:SRRK), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the treatment of serious diseases in which protein growth factors play a fundamental role, today announced the publication of preclinical development data for SRK-181 in the peer-reviewed journal International Journal of Toxicology. SRK-181 is a product candidate that has been shown to be a potent and highly specific inhibitor of latent growth factor-beta 1 (TGF?1) activation in preclinical studies. SRK-181 is being developed to overcome primary resistance to checkpoint inhibitor therapy and is currently being studied in the two-part DRAGON Phase 1 trial in patients with locally advanced or metastatic solid tumors exhibiting primary resistance to anti-PD-(L)1 therapy.

"This publication provides a comprehensive preclinical assessment of the pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, and safety of SRK-181, which support its evaluation in the DRAGON Phase 1 trial," said Gregory Carven, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Scholar Rock. "The initial clinical response and safety data from the DRAGON trial, which we anticipate by end of year, will provide an early look into SRK-181's safety and tolerability profile and the potential for a specific inhibitor of latent TGF?1 to overcome the immune exclusion that we believe, for many patients, is responsible for primary resistance to checkpoint inhibitor therapies."