Schrödinger, Inc.Schrödinger, Inc. (NASDAQ:SDGR), whose physics-based software platform is transforming the way therapeutics and materials are discovered, today presented new preclinical data from its mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma translocation protein 1 (MALT1) inhibitor program in B-cell lymphomas in a poster session at the 63rd American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition in Atlanta, Georgia. MALT1 is considered a potential therapeutic target for several non-Hodgkin’s B-cell lymphomas as well as chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Schrödinger has identified novel MALT1 inhibitors that demonstrate strong anti-tumor activity across multiple tumor models, including cell- and patient-derived xenograft models, and combination potential with other agents, including standards of care such as ibrutinib.
“We are pleased that our data strongly underscore the therapeutic potential of our MALT1 inhibitors and present an opportunity to advance a potential best-in-class MALT1 inhibitor into the clinic,” said Karen Akinsanya, Ph.D., executive vice president, chief biomedical scientist and head of discovery R&D at Schrödinger. “We are on track to submit the IND for our MALT1 development candidate to the FDA in the first half of 2022.”
The data presented suggest that targeting MALT1 may expand therapeutic options for patients with selected B-cell lymphomas, such as activated B-cell (ABC) subtype of diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL), with the possibility of expanding into other B-cell lymphomas such as mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). Furthermore, these small molecule MALT1 inhibitors demonstrate potential in combination with Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors to overcome drug-induced resistance in patients with relapsed/refractory B-cell lymphomas.
Additional Details About the Study
The presentation, “Characterization of Potent Paracaspase MALT1 Inhibitors for Hematological Malignancies,” highlighted preclinical data with multiple lead molecules discovered using Schrodinger’s proprietary physics-based free energy perturbation (FEP+) modeling technology. These molecules demonstrate potent inhibition of MALT1 enzymatic activity and anti-proliferative activity in the ABC-DLBCL cell lines, such as OCI-LY3 and OCI-LY10. In combination with approved agents, these inhibitors demonstrate strong combination potential with Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors such as ibrutinib in ABC-DLBCL cell lines. In ABC-DLBCL cell line-derived xenograft (CDX) models, the company’s representative MALT1 inhibitor induces tumor regression as a single agent and complete tumor regression in combination with ibrutinib. The representative MALT1 inhibitor, when tested in LY2298 patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models, demonstrates similar results. In addition, the representative MALT1 inhibitor was explored in a CDX model derived from a mantle cell lymphoma REC-1 cell line, and demonstrates strong anti-tumor activity of ~78% tumor growth inhibition as a single agent. Taken together, these data strongly underscore the therapeutic potential of Schrödinger’s MALT1 inhibitors and support further evaluation of a potential best-in-class MALT1 inhibitor in clinical trials.
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