Benzinga | Jun 7, 2021 06:32AM EDT

SpringWorks Therapeutics Announces Clinical Collaboration with Seagen to Evaluate Nirogacestat in Combination with SEA-BCMA in Patients with Relapsed or Refractory Multiple Myeloma

SpringWorks Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWTX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing life-changing medicines for patients with severe rare diseases and cancer, today announced that the company has entered into a clinical trial collaboration agreement with Seagen Inc. to evaluate nirogacestat, SpringWorks' investigational gamma secretase inhibitor, in combination with SEA-BCMA, Seagen's investigational monoclonal antibody targeting B-cell maturation agent (BCMA), in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.

Gamma secretase inhibition prevents the cleavage and shedding of BCMA from the surface of myeloma cells. In preclinical models, nirogacestat has been shown to increase levels of membrane-bound BCMA and reduce levels of soluble BCMA, thereby enhancing the activity of BCMA-targeted therapies.

"We continue to make significant progress advancing nirogacestat as a potential best-in-class cornerstone of BCMA combination therapy for patients with multiple myeloma and are delighted to work with Seagen to study nirogacestat in combination with SEA-BCMA, our first collaboration with a monoclonal antibody targeting BCMA," said Saqib Islam, Chief Executive Officer of SpringWorks. "Our goal is to meaningfully improve clinical outcomes for patients with multiple myeloma and we look forward to generating clinical data using nirogacestat in combination with BCMA-directed therapies across modalities."

Under the terms of the agreement, Seagen will sponsor and conduct the Phase 1 study to evaluate the safety, tolerability and preliminary efficacy of the combination, and will assume all costs associated with the study, other than expenses related to the manufacturing of nirogacestat and certain expenses related to intellectual property rights. Seagen and SpringWorks will also form a joint development committee to manage the clinical study, which is expected to commence in the second half of 2021.

In addition to its ongoing clinical collaborations with BCMA-directed therapies, SpringWorks is conducting a global Phase 3, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial (the DeFi Trial) to evaluate nirogacestat as a monotherapy in adults with progressing desmoid tumors.