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October 14, 2020

New Haven’s Arvinas expands drug pipeline 

PHOTO | Contributed Arvinas CEO John Houston
By Natalie Missakian

New Haven biotech Arvinas Inc. on Wednesday unveiled five new preclinical programs that aim to treat various types of cancer and a fatal neurological disorder.

The programs target disease-causing proteins that have previously been considered “undruggable,” according to Arvinas. 

Arvinas’ drugs use PROTACs (short for proteolysis-targeting chimeras), a technology developed by Yale scientist and company founder Craig Crews, to remove disease-causing proteins by harnessing the body’s natural cellular trash-disposal mechanism.

Two of the company’s experimental drugs, targeting advanced breast cancer and a difficult-to-treat form of prostate cancer, are currently in phase 1 human testing.  

The new drug targets added to the pipeline Wednesday include:

  • BCL6 (B-cell lymphoma 6 protein), which is implicated in B cell lymphomas. The company expects to file an investigational new drug application (IND) with the Food and Drug Administration to begin human testing in 2022.
  • KRAS (Kirsten rat sarcoma), which is associated with poor prognosis and resistance to standards of care in several tumor types. The company expects to file an IND with the FDA to begin human testing  in 2023.
  • Myc (myelocytomatosis) protein, which are implicated in 70% of all human cancers. (Exploratory program)
  • HPK1 (Hematopoietic progenitor kinase 1), which suppresses activation of T cells. Targeting this protein can enhance anti-tumor immune responses, according to Arvinas. (Exploratory program)
  • mHTT, a mutation in the huntingtin gene, which causes Huntington’s disease, a fatal inherited condition causing progressive breakdown of nerve cells in the brain. (Exploratory program)

Contact Natalie Missakian at news@newhavenbiz.com

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