10-K
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
(Mark One)
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023
OR
Commission File Number: 001-39269
ORIC PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its Charter)
240 E. Grand Ave, 2nd FloorSouth San Francisco, CA 94080
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (650) 388-5600
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class TradingSymbol(s) Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, $0.0001 par value per share ORIC The Nasdaq Global Select Market
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer ☐ Accelerated filer ☐
Non-accelerated filer ☒ Smaller reporting company ☒
Emerging growth company ☒
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐
If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes☐No ☒
The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates of the registrant, based on the closing price of the shares of common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on June 30, 2023 (the last day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter) was $414.5 million.
The number of shares of registrant’s Common Stock outstanding as of March 4, 2024 was 67,375,847.
Portions of the Registrant’s Definitive Proxy Statement relating to the Registrant’s Annual Meeting of Shareholders are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K where indicated. Such Definitive Proxy Statement will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days after the end of the registrant’s 2023 fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.
Table of Contents
Page
PART I
Item 1. Business 1
Item 1A. Risk Factors 43
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments 94
Item 1C. Cybersecurity 94
Item 2. Properties 95
Item 3. Legal Proceedings 95
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures 95
PART II
Item 6. Reserved 96
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk 105
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 106
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures 125
Item 9B. Other Information 125
Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions That Prevent Inspections 126
PART III
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance 127
Item 11. Executive Compensation 127
Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services 127
PART IV
Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules 128
i
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including statements regarding our future results of operations and financial position, business strategy, development plans, planned preclinical studies and clinical trials, future results of clinical trials, expected research and development costs, regulatory strategy, timing and likelihood of success, as well as plans and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “would,” “expect,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “could,” “intend,” “target,” “project,” “contemplate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential” or “continue” or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. Forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K include, but are not limited to, statements about:
•
the ability of our clinical trials to demonstrate safety and efficacy of our product candidates, and other positive results;
•
the timing, progress and results of preclinical studies and clinical trials for ORIC-114, ORIC-944, ORIC-533 and other product candidates we may develop, including statements regarding the timing of initiation and completion of studies or trials and related preparatory work, the period during which the results of the trials will become available, and our research and development programs;
•
the timing, scope and likelihood of regulatory filings and approvals, including timing of Investigational New Drug (IND), or Clinical Trial Application (CTA), applications and final Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, approval of ORIC-114, ORIC-944, ORIC-533 and any other future product candidates;
•
the potential benefits of and activity under the company’s collaboration, licenses and other third-party agreements;
•
the timing, scope or likelihood of foreign regulatory filings and approvals;
•
our ability to develop and advance our current product candidates and programs into, and successfully complete, clinical studies;
•
our manufacturing, commercialization, and marketing capabilities and strategy;
•
our plans relating to commercializing our product candidates, if approved, including the geographic areas of focus and sales strategy;
•
the need to hire additional personnel and our ability to attract and retain such personnel;
•
our expectations regarding the impact of a global pandemic or other public health emergencies on our business;
•
the size of the market opportunity for our product candidates, including our estimates of the number of patients who suffer from the diseases we are targeting;
•
our expectations regarding the approval and use of our product candidates in combination with other drugs;
•
our competitive position and the success of competing therapies that are or may become available;
•
our estimates of the number of patients that we will enroll in our clinical trials;
•
the beneficial characteristics, safety, efficacy and therapeutic effects of our product candidates;
•
our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval of our product candidates;
•
our plans relating to the further development of our product candidates, including additional indications we may pursue;
•
existing regulations and regulatory developments in the United States, Europe and other jurisdictions;
•
our intellectual property position, including the scope of protection we are able to establish and maintain for intellectual property rights covering ORIC-114, ORIC-944, ORIC-533 and other product candidates we may develop, including the extensions of existing patent terms where available, the validity of intellectual property rights held by third parties, and our ability not to infringe, misappropriate or otherwise violate any third-party intellectual property rights;
•
our continued reliance on third parties to conduct additional clinical trials of our product candidates, and for the manufacture of our product candidates for preclinical studies and clinical trials;
•
our ability to obtain, and negotiate favorable terms of, any collaboration, licensing or other arrangements that may be necessary or desirable to develop, manufacture or commercialize our product candidates;
ii
•
the pricing and reimbursement of ORIC-114, ORIC-944, ORIC-533 and other product candidates we may develop, if approved;
•
the rate and degree of market acceptance and clinical utility of ORIC-114, ORIC-944, ORIC-533 and other product candidates we may develop;
•
our estimates regarding expenses, future revenue, capital requirements and needs for additional financing;
•
our financial performance;
•
the period over which we estimate our existing cash, cash equivalents and investments will be sufficient to fund our operating plan;
•
the impact of laws and regulations;
•
our expectations regarding the period during which we will qualify as an emerging growth company under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (JOBS Act); and
•
our anticipated use of our existing resources.
We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about our business, the industry in which we operate and financial trends that we believe may affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects, and these forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or development. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions described in the section titled “Risk factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Because forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. The events and circumstances reflected in our forward-looking statements may not be achieved or occur and actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Except as required by applicable law, we do not plan to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein, whether as a result of any new information, future events or otherwise.
In addition, statements that “we believe” and similar statements reflect our beliefs and opinions on the relevant subject. These statements are based upon information available to us as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and while we believe such information forms a reasonable basis for such statements, such information may be limited or incomplete, and our statements should not be read to indicate that we have conducted an exhaustive inquiry into, or review of, all potentially available relevant information. These statements are inherently uncertain and you are cautioned not to unduly rely upon these statements.
iii
PART I
Item 1. Business.
Overview
ORIC Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to improving patients’ lives by Overcoming Resistance In Cancer.
Profound advancements in oncology drug development have expanded the treatment options available to patients, yet therapeutic resistance and relapse continue to limit the efficacy and duration of clinical benefit of such treatments. Collectively, our founders and management team have a decades-long heritage of identifying and characterizing resistance mechanisms in oncology, having discovered and developed groundbreaking medicines at companies such as Ignyta, Medivation, Aragon and Genentech.
Our fully integrated discovery and development team is advancing a diverse pipeline of innovative clinical and discovery stage therapies designed to counter resistance mechanisms in cancer by leveraging our expertise within three specific areas: hormone-dependent cancers, precision oncology and key tumor dependencies.
Our clinical stage product candidates include:
•
ORIC-114, a brain penetrant, orally bioavailable, irreversible inhibitor designed to selectively target epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) with high potency towards exon 20 insertion mutations, for which we licensed development and commercialization rights from Voronoi Inc. (Voronoi) in October 2020 (Voronoi License Agreement). In the fourth quarter of 2021, we filed a Clinical Trial Application (CTA) in South Korea for ORIC-114, which was cleared in the first quarter of 2022. We also filed and cleared an Investigational New Drug Application (IND) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for ORIC-114 in the third quarter of 2022. We are enrolling a Phase 1b trial of ORIC-114 as a single-agent, in patients with advanced solid tumors with EGFR and HER2 exon 20 alterations, atypical EGFR mutations or HER2 amplifications, and that trial allows patients with CNS metastases that are either treated or untreated but asymptomatic. We reported initial Phase 1b data from this trial at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress in October 2023, which demonstrated both systemic and intracranial activity across multiple dose levels in a heavily pre-treated patient population. We expect to initiate dose expansion cohorts for ORIC-114 in patients with mutated NSCLC in the first half of 2024 and report updated Phase 1b data in the first half of 2025.
•
ORIC-944, an allosteric inhibitor of the polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2) via the embryonic ectoderm development (EED) subunit, for which we licensed development and commercialization rights from Mirati Therapeutics, Inc. (Mirati) in August 2020 (Mirati License Agreement). We filed and cleared an IND with the FDA for ORIC-944 in the fourth quarter of 2021. We are enrolling a Phase 1b trial of ORIC-944 as a single-agent, in patients with advanced prostate cancer and reported initial Phase 1b data from this trial in January 2024, demonstrating potential best-in-class drug properties, including clinical half-life consistent with a preclinical prediction of greater than 10 hours, robust target engagement and a favorable safety profile. We expect to initiate a combination study of ORIC-944 with androgen receptor (AR) inhibitor(s) in metastatic prostate cancer in the first half of 2024 and provide a program update in mid-2024.
•
ORIC-533, an orally bioavailable small molecule inhibitor of CD73, a key node in the adenosine pathway believed to play a central role in resistance to chemotherapy- and immunotherapy-based treatment regimens. In the second quarter of 2021, the FDA cleared the IND for ORIC-533 and, in the first quarter of 2023, a CTA was cleared in Canada for ORIC-533. We are enrolling a Phase 1b trial of ORIC-533 as a single-agent, in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma and reported initial Phase 1b data from this trial at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting in December 2023. We intend to complete the dose escalation in the first quarter of 2024. We intend to evaluate strategic partnerships to develop ORIC-533 in combination with other immune-based antimyeloma therapies.
Beyond these clinical stage product candidates, we are developing multiple discovery stage precision medicines targeting other hallmark cancer resistance mechanisms.
Cancer resistance continues to be one of the most daunting challenges facing patients, clinicians and researchers in oncology today. A multitude of biological factors and pathways have been linked to resistance, which enables tumors to restore cell growth and survival by circumventing a treatment’s intended mechanism of action. Our resistance platform is focused on three areas: (1) innate resistance, which derives from an unaddressed oncogenic driver that promotes tumorigenesis; (2) acquired resistance, the result of an
1
induced or enriched oncogenic driver that arises in response to treatment; and (3) bypass resistance, the activation of a compensatory signaling pathway in response to treatment.
We are building a portfolio of novel agents targeting multiple resistance mechanisms by leveraging our specialized expertise in hormone-dependent cancers, precision oncology and key tumor dependencies:
•
Hormone-dependent cancers: Two of our founders, Drs. Charles Sawyers and Richard Heyman, are leading experts in nuclear hormone receptors and hormone-dependent cancers. They previously co-founded two oncology companies, Aragon (acquired by Johnson & Johnson in 2013) and Seragon (acquired by Roche in 2014), that developed therapeutics targeting two nuclear hormone receptors, the androgen receptor (AR) and estrogen receptor (ER), respectively, the former effort leading to the approved drug Erleada (apalutamide). Our product candidate ORIC-944 is an allosteric inhibitor of PRC2 via the EED subunit that was designed to have superior drug properties compared to EZH2 inhibitors and is being developed as a potential treatment for advanced prostate cancer. Additionally, we have a preclinical program focused on the synthetic lethal inhibition of PLK4 for TRIM37 amplified breast cancers and other solid tumors. Given the breadth of solid tumor indications in which hormone signaling pathways have been implicated in driving disease, or in the development of resistance, we believe our differentiated insight into this biology is a crucial component of our future success.
•
Precision oncology: Our precision medicine approach of utilizing biomarkers for demonstration of target and pathway engagement and ultimately for patient selection is rooted in our management team’s prior experience at Ignyta (acquired by Roche in 2018) in successfully developing Rozlytrek (entrectinib), which was approved by the FDA for the treatment of ROS1-positive metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and neurotrophic tyrosine receptor kinase (NTRK)-positive solid tumors in 2019. Similarly, our product candidate, ORIC-114, a brain penetrant, irreversible inhibitor designed to selectively target EGFR and HER2 with high potency against exon 20 insertion mutations, is being developed in genetically defined patient populations, including NSCLC and breast cancer. Our team’s experience in precision oncology dates back decades, including Dr. Sawyers’ pivotal role in the development of Gleevec (imatinib) and Sprycel (dasatinib). We believe our team’s expertise and experience in precision oncology will allow us to develop drugs with a higher probability of clinical success within biomarker-defined patient populations, while also potentially reducing the time and cost of development.
•
Key tumor dependencies: Key tumor dependencies are abnormal alterations that promote cancer cell growth and survival and also confer specific vulnerabilities that normal cells lack; these cancer-specific dependencies are compelling therapeutic targets. Our scientific team—led by our Chief Scientific Officer, head of medicinal chemistry, head of biology and head of translational medicine—has amassed deep knowledge of key oncogenic drivers and pathways in order to identify and validate oncology targets. They most recently worked together at Genentech, where they progressed more than 20 oncology discovery programs into clinical development, with three approvals to date, including Cotellic (cobimetinib), Zelboraf (vemurafenib) and Polivy (polatuzumab vedotin). Our knowledge of innate, acquired and bypass resistance mechanisms, as well as our in-depth experience in forward and reverse translation, underpins our discovery efforts to identify key drivers of cancer resistance that can be exploited for therapeutic gain. Our resistance platform and in-house capabilities in medicinal chemistry and structure-based design enable us to pursue these resistance mechanisms. For example, our understanding of innate resistance and our medicinal chemistry expertise has led to the discovery of ORIC-533, an orally bioavailable small molecule inhibitor of CD73.
We are applying our internal drug discovery capabilities to these three areas of expertise to develop innovative therapies targeting the critical cancer resistance mechanisms that we believe will bring the largest benefit to patients, including by making existing therapies more effective for a longer period of time.
2
Our portfolio currently consists of multiple internally discovered and in-licensed programs targeting key resistance mechanisms in cancer. Our product candidates are shown in the figure below:
Our most advanced discovery and research programs are shown in the figure below:
Brain penetrant EGFR/HER2 program: ORIC-114
The ErbB receptor tyrosine kinase family is involved in key cellular functions, including cell growth and survival. EGFR and HER2 exon 20 insertion mutations are observed across multiple solid tumors, including NSCLC, breast, gastrointestinal, bladder and other cancers. EGFR exon 20 insertion mutations are observed in approximately 2.1% of all patients with NSCLC and these patients have a worse prognosis than patients with NSCLC driven by other EGFR mutations. HER2 exon 20 insertion mutations are observed in approximately 1.5% of all patients with NSCLC and atypical EGFR mutations are observed in approximately 2.9% of all patients with NSCLC. Approximately one-third of patients with exon 20 insertion mutations develop brain metastases, which contributes to poor prognosis.
ORIC-114 is a brain penetrant, orally bioavailable, irreversible inhibitor designed to selectively target EGFR and HER2 with high potency against exon 20 insertion mutations. ORIC-114 has demonstrated greater brain exposure in preclinical studies compared to certain other compounds being developed against exon 20 mutations and has shown strong anti-tumor activity in an EGFR-driven intracranial lung cancer model. ORIC-114 has also demonstrated strong anti-tumor activity in both a subcutaneous and intracranial HER2-positive breast cancer model. In the fourth quarter of 2021, we filed a CTA for ORIC-114 in South Korea, which was cleared in the first quarter of 2022. We also filed and cleared an IND with the FDA for ORIC-114 in the third quarter of 2022. We are enrolling a Phase 1b trial of ORIC-114 as a single-agent, in patients with advanced solid tumors with EGFR and HER2 exon 20 alterations, atypical EGFR mutations or HER2 amplifications, and that trial allows patients with CNS metastases that are either treated or untreated but asymptomatic. We reported initial Phase 1b data from this trial at the ESMO Congress in October 2023, which demonstrated both systemic and intracranial activity in a heavily pre-treated patient population across multiple dose levels. We expect to initiate dose expansion cohorts for ORIC-114 in patients with mutated NSCLC in the first half of 2024 and report updated Phase 1b data in the first half of 2025.
PRC2 inhibitor program: ORIC-944
The dysregulation of PRC2 methyltransferase activity can lead to tumorigenesis in a wide range of cancers including prostate cancer, breast cancer, and hematological malignancies. PRC2 is composed of two druggable subunits: EED and EZH2. Several
3
companies are developing EZH2 inhibitors; however, the pharmacologic properties of these compounds result in high doses that achieve only partial target inhibition in the clinic. Additionally, preclinical studies suggest drug resistance to EZH2 inhibitors may develop via EZH1 bypass compensation or acquired mutations in EZH2. Allosteric inhibition of EED impacts the assembly, stabilization, and activation of PRC2, and may have benefits over EZH2-mediated inhibition of PRC2. ORIC-944 is a potent and selective allosteric inhibitor of PRC2 via the EED subunit that was designed to have superior drug properties over EZH2 inhibitors and is efficacious in androgen-insensitive and enzalutamide-resistant prostate cancer models in preclinical studies. We filed and cleared an IND with the FDA for ORIC-944 in the fourth quarter of 2021. We are enrolling a Phase 1b trial of ORIC-944 as a single-agent, in patients with advanced prostate cancer and reported initial Phase 1b data from this trial in January 2024, demonstrating potential best-in-class drug properties, including clinical half-life consistent with a preclinical prediction of greater than 10 hours, robust target engagement and a favorable safety profile. We expect to initiate a combination study of ORIC-944 with AR inhibitor(s) in metastatic prostate cancer in the first half of 2024 and provide a program update in mid-2024.
CD73 inhibitor program: ORIC-533
Many cancers usurp the anti-inflammatory adenosine pathway to avoid detection by the immune system, thereby reducing the effectiveness of certain chemotherapy- and immunotherapy-based treatments. Accumulation of adenosine in the tumor microenvironment is implicated in local immune suppression that leads to tumor growth. CD73 is an enzyme that controls the rate at which extracellular adenosine is produced and its overexpression is associated with poor prognosis in several cancers, including TNBC, NSCLC, multiple myeloma, melanoma and prostate, among others. Several global pharmaceutical companies are developing anti-CD73 antibodies, but due to significant medicinal chemistry challenges, to our knowledge, only one other orally bioavailable inhibitor of CD73 is in clinical development. With our resistance platform capabilities, our medicinal chemistry team created a differentiated compound that is both potent and orally bioavailable. Our product candidate, ORIC-533, is an orally bioavailable small molecule inhibitor of CD73 that has demonstrated more potent adenosine inhibition in vitro compared to an antibody-based approach and other small molecule CD73 inhibitors. In the second quarter of 2021, the FDA cleared the IND for ORIC-533 and, in the first quarter of 2023, a CTA was cleared in Canada for ORIC-533. We are enrolling a Phase 1b trial of ORIC-533 as a single-agent, in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma and reported initial Phase 1b data from this trial at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting in December 2023. We intend to complete the dose escalation in the first quarter of 2024. We intend to evaluate strategic partnerships to develop ORIC-533 in combination with other immune-based antimyeloma therapies.
Other preclinical programs
In addition to our product candidates, we are leveraging our resistance platform in pursuit of multiple discovery research programs that focus on our expertise within hormone-dependent cancers, precision oncology and key tumor dependencies. These programs highlight our medicinal chemistry and structure-based design expertise, and thus for the most part utilize a small molecule therapeutic approach to target oncogenic drivers in solid tumors like prostate, breast, and lung cancer that relapse with innate, acquired or bypass resistance. Our most advanced small molecule discovery research program is in preclinical studies.
Our strategy
Our goal is to discover, develop and commercialize innovative therapies that overcome resistance in cancer. The key elements of our business strategy to achieve this goal include:
•
Leveraging the insights, experience and networks of our founders and management team. Our founders and management team have extensive experience identifying, discovering, developing and commercializing innovative cancer therapeutics aimed at novel targets, including Rozlytrek, Erleada, Talzenna, Xtandi, Sprycel and Gleevec. We are using this broad oncology experience together with our internal discovery and development capabilities to build a diverse pipeline of therapies targeting multiple cancer resistance mechanisms.
•
Advancing our product candidates as rapidly as possible through clinical development. In 2021, we filed and cleared INDs with the FDA for ORIC-533, an orally bioavailable small molecule inhibitor of CD73, and ORIC-944, a potent and selective allosteric inhibitor of polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2), that targets its regulatory embryonic ectoderm development (EED) subunit. We filed a CTA in South Korea for ORIC-114, a brain penetrant, orally bioavailable, irreversible inhibitor designed to selectively target EGFR and HER2 with high potency towards exon 20 insertion mutations, which was cleared in the first quarter of 2022. In the third quarter of 2022, we also filed and cleared an IND with the FDA for ORIC-114. In the first quarter of 2023, we cleared a CTA in Canada for ORIC-533. For ORIC-114 we are enrolling a Phase 1b trial as a single-agent, in patients with advanced solid tumors with EGFR and HER2 exon 20 alterations, atypical EGFR mutations or HER2 amplifications, and that trial allows patients with CNS metastases that are either treated or untreated but asymptomatic. For ORIC-944 we are enrolling a Phase 1b trial as a single-agent, in patients with advanced prostate cancer. For ORIC-533 we are enrolling a Phase 1b trial as a
4
single-agent, in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma. We reported initial Phase 1b data for ORIC-114 at the ESMO Congress in October 2023, and expect to report updated data in the first half of 2025. We reported initial Phase 1b data for ORIC-533 at the ASH annual meeting in December 2023, and we reported initial Phase 1b data for ORIC-944 in January 2024. Where possible, we plan to pursue accelerated development strategies in areas of high unmet need.
•
Leveraging our resistance platform in building the leading, fully integrated company focused on delivering innovative medicines that aim to overcome resistance in cancer. As of December 31, 2023, we had 100 full-time employees, including world-class discovery, preclinical and clinical development teams, encompassing all major functions necessary to take a molecule from target identification through registrational clinical trials. Together, they bring in-house expertise in medicinal chemistry, biology, translational medicine, computational chemistry, in vitro and in vivo pharmacology, computational biology, biomarker development and CMC. We have also established internal expertise in clinical development, clinical operations, pharmacovigilance, clinical pharmacology, regulatory and quality. The members of our research and development organization have collectively led and contributed to dozens of IND filings and multiple drug approvals in oncology. These internal capabilities led to the discovery and clinical development of our first product candidate and will enable us to continue to expand and advance our portfolio of additional product candidates.
•
Continuing to expand our portfolio of product candidates through both internal research activities and business development efforts. Our internally generated product candidates include, ORIC-533, an orally bioavailable small molecule inhibitor of CD73. We also continue to advance our other internally generated programs as well as expand our pipeline through internal discovery activities. Simultaneously, we believe that accessing external innovation and expertise is important to our success. For example, we have in-licensed Mirati’s allosteric PRC2 program, including a lead product candidate now designated ORIC-944, as well as Voronoi’s EGFR and HER2 exon 20 insertion mutation program, including a lead product candidate now designated ORIC-114. We will continue to leverage our leadership team’s prior business development experience as we evaluate potential in-licensing and acquisition opportunities to further expand our portfolio. We aim to be the partner of choice for academic groups and companies in the field of cancer resistance.
•
Utilizing a precision medicine approach in the development of each of our product candidates. We use biomarkers to demonstrate target and pathway engagement and plan to use them for patient selection in our clinical trials. This approach is rooted in our team’s prior experiences developing targeted therapies, such as Rozlytrek, an orally bioavailable, tyrosine kinase inhibitor approved for select tumors that harbor ROS1 or NTRK fusions. We seek to design rigorous and cost-efficient clinical programs that increase the probability of success by exploring connections between cellular-level biology and patient-level clinical outcomes. The use of biomarker-based patient selection is designed to enable demonstration of clinical proof-of-concept earlier and with fewer patients, leading ultimately to smaller pivotal trials. As part of our strategy, our in-house team of experienced translational scientists and computational biologists leverages existing technologies as well as develops proprietary assays to enable the selection and assessment of biomarkers for each of our programs.
•
Evaluating opportunities to accelerate development timelines and enhance the commercial potential of our programs in collaboration with third parties. We own or license full worldwide development and commercialization rights to each of our programs (other than with respect to our brain penetrant EGFR and HER2 program, ORIC-114, for which we own exclusive rights worldwide excluding the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan (the ORIC Territory)). We have established collaborations, including a clinical development collaboration with Pfizer Inc. for ORIC-533, and intend to continue evaluating opportunities to work with partners that meaningfully enhance our capabilities with respect to the development and commercialization of our product candidates. For example, we intend to evaluate strategic partnerships to develop ORIC-533 in combination with other immune-based antimyeloma therapies. In addition, we intend to commercialize our product candidates in key markets either alone or with partners in order to maximize the worldwide commercial potential of our programs.
Background on cancer resistance
Cancer resistance continues to be one of the most daunting challenges facing patients, clinicians and researchers in oncology today. A multitude of biological factors and pathways have been linked to resistance, which enables tumors to restore cell growth and survival by circumventing a treatment’s intended mechanism of action. Furthermore, treatment resistance in cancer emerges irrespective of therapeutic class, including targeted therapy, hormone therapy, immunotherapy and chemotherapy.
5
Our resistance platform is focused on three areas: (1) innate resistance, which derives from an unaddressed oncogenic driver that promotes tumorigenesis; (2) acquired resistance, the result of an induced or enriched oncogenic driver that arises in response to treatment; and (3) bypass resistance, the activation of a compensatory signaling pathway in response to treatment.
Overview of key resistance mechanisms and ORIC team’s prior relevant experience
•
Innate resistance occurs when a key tumor dependency is not addressed, such as a driver mutation with no available targeted therapeutic. An example of a drug targeting innate resistance is Rozlytrek, developed by Ignyta for patients with ROS1-positive, metastatic NSCLC and NTRK gene fusion-positive solid tumors. We believe these innate resistance targets have a higher probability of technical success than other cancer targets, hold potential for meaningful clinical outcomes, and have the potential for rapid clinical development and approval timelines. Innate resistance targets have been the subject of a number of targeted therapies that have been approved over the past couple of decades. Studies have shown that treatments that target and inhibit unaddressed driver mutations have high response rates with generally good durability, including in a resistant setting. This efficacy in a refractory patient population in turn has been shown to enable a shorter development pathway, with many such agents being approved based upon single arm trials of modest size. New advances in small molecule drug discovery have created an opportunity to better target next-generation oncogenic drivers. Our pipeline includes several programs targeting innate resistance including ORIC-114, our brain penetrant, orally bioavailable, irreversible inhibitor designed to address innate resistance related to exon20 insertion mutations of EGFR and HER2 in lung and other tumors as well as HER2-positive breast cancer; ORIC-533, our orally bioavailable small molecule CD73 inhibitor, which we designed to address adenosine-driven innate resistance to chemotherapy- and immunotherapy-based treatment regimens and is being developed for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma, and; ORIC-944, our allosteric inhibitor of PRC2, which was designed to address innate resistance related to PRC2 dysregulation in prostate and other tumors. While other therapies targeting innate resistance have shown technical success, our programs are distinct from other therapies and there is no guarantee that our product candidates will be approved, are more likely to receive FDA approval than other potential product candidates, or if approved, will be approved quickly.
•
Acquired resistance arises in response to treatment resulting in a newly acquired or enriched oncogenic driver. Genomic changes in the therapeutic target, such as DNA mutation or amplification, can be evolutionarily selected to propel proliferation in heterogeneous tumors or may be acquired through the course of the disease. Specific changes in the target itself often result in loss of potency of the initial therapeutic. An example of acquired resistance is seen in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) treated with the first-generation BCR-ABL inhibitor Gleevec, with resistance frequently driven by mutations in BCR-ABL that lead to loss of Gleevec binding activity. The second-generation BCR-ABL inhibitor Sprycel was developed to specifically address acquired resistance to Gleevec, with our co-founder, Dr. Sawyers, playing a critical role in the development of both therapeutics. Our pipeline includes one preclinical program and several ongoing discovery efforts directed towards targets for resistance in solid tumors.
•
Bypass resistance occurs when a therapeutically targeted cancer pathway is reactivated in cells to compensate for the presence of a therapeutic. Targeted therapies that induce reactivation of the same pathway indicate a key dependence on that specific pathway for tumor growth and survival. This key dependency concept is illustrated in the context of BRAF mutant melanoma. Mutations in the BRAF kinase allow for unrestricted signaling of the protein that is required for tumor growth and survival. Discovery of small molecule BRAF inhibitors led to significant reduction of tumor
6
growth and improvement of melanoma patient survival, as the innate resistance was addressed. However, following the initial profound responses observed in patients, patients began relapsing. Mechanistic exploration into the basis of patient progression revealed that some tumors were evolving to reactivate the same pathway further downstream, as the tumors compensated for the BRAF therapeutic. The development of Cotellic to target MEK further downstream in this pathway overcame the bypass mechanism and significantly improved patient outcomes.
Collectively, our team has spent decades identifying and characterizing resistance mechanisms and has a strong heritage of bringing forth new and improved therapies designed to exploit resistance biology from the research lab to the clinic and, ultimately, to patients in need.
Our areas of focus within cancer resistance
Our vision for patients with cancer is that therapeutics specifically addressing resistance will provide durable treatment responses, such that solid tumors can become a chronic disease with patient survival measured in years rather than months. Within the broader resistance landscape, we have specialized expertise in hormone-dependent cancers, precision oncology and key tumor dependencies, areas in which we have focused our internal discovery and external business development efforts.
Hormone-dependent cancers
Two of our founders, Drs. Sawyers and Heyman, are leading experts in hormone-dependent cancers. They previously co-founded two oncology companies, Aragon and Seragon, that developed therapeutics targeting two nuclear hormone receptors, AR and ER, respectively. Following the acquisitions of Aragon—whose lead product, Erleada, was ultimately approved for prostate cancer—and Seragon, whose lead product candidates were being developed for breast cancer, Drs. Sawyers and Heyman founded ORIC.
Given the breadth of resistance in hormone driven cancers, we believe our differentiated insight into this biology is a crucial component of our future success. Our programs include the product candidate ORIC-944 being developed for advanced prostate cancer and a discovery stage program focused on the synthetic lethal inhibition of PLK4 for TRIM37 amplified breast cancers.
Precision oncology (biomarker-driven, patient-selected trials)
Our clinical development team—including our Chief Medical Officer, head of clinical development and heads of core functions—previously worked together with our Chief Executive Officer at Ignyta, an oncology company that developed a pipeline of precision therapies, including Rozlytrek, which is now approved by the FDA in two different indications for genetically defined tumors, ROS1-positive metastatic NSCLC and NTRK-positive solid tumors. The clinical development of Rozlytrek, which was largely driven by this team, relied upon biomarker-driven patient selection via a companion diagnostic, leading to the approval of the compound approximately five years after it first entered the clinic.
The Rozlytrek and Ignyta experience can be seen as a paradigm for precision oncology, in which the identification of biomarkers forms the basis of the entire drug discovery and development process, from early understandings of PK and PD modulation of target biology through to appropriate patient selection during clinical development. As part of our strategy, our in-house team of experienced translational scientists and computational biologists utilize existing technologies as well as develop proprietary assays to enable the selection and assessment of biomarkers for each of our programs. We seek to design rigorous and cost-efficient clinical programs that increase the probability of success by exploring connections between cellular-level biology and patient-level clinical outcomes. The use of biomarker-based patient selection is designed to enable demonstration of clinical proof-of-concept earlier and with fewer patients, leading ultimately to smaller pivotal trials.
Our emphasis on a precision oncology approach to the mechanisms that underlie cancer resistance enables us to develop biological methods and assays that can be employed in the selection of appropriate patients for our development candidates rather than relying solely on limited clinical diagnosis information. For example, like many cancers, prostate cancer is a heterogeneous disease with different pathways contributing to potential resistance mechanisms to anti-androgen therapy that may vary from patient to patient or evolve over the course of a patient’s treatment history. We intend to apply a precision oncology approach to the advancement of our entire pipeline.
Key tumor dependencies
Our scientific team—led by our Chief Scientific Officer, head of medicinal chemistry, head of biology and head of translational medicine—has amassed deep knowledge of key oncogenic drivers and pathways in order to identify and validate oncology targets. They most recently worked together at Genentech, where they progressed more than 20 oncology discovery
7
programs into clinical development, with three approvals to date, including Cotellic, Zelboraf and Polivy. The team’s approach to uncovering tumor dependencies that are key drivers of cancer resistance is biology-focused and mechanistically driven.
Tumors are dependent on distinct biological drivers, or key tumor dependencies, which can be exploited to develop therapeutics. Examples of key tumor dependencies include oncogenic drivers, metabolic dependencies and lineage-specific markers. The earliest known tumor dependency occurs after normal cells acquire mutations that initiate tumor development. These early lesions continuously evolve within a given tissue in the presence of other cell types, such as endothelial and immune cells, ultimately generating a heterogeneous tumor ecosystem. The interplay between tumor cells and other heterologous cell types within a tissue impart physiological restrictions, such as limited oxygen or increased acidity, that tumor cells are forced to withstand to enable growth. This concept of evolution under selective pressure also applies in the context of an advanced tumor being subjected to therapeutic interventions—the relapsing tumors are forced to adapt in order to grow in the presence of treatment. Through these evolutionary processes, tumor cells can become exclusively dependent on distinct pathways, and these are the key dependencies that can be exploited for therapeutic gain.
Our understanding of key tumor dependencies has also led to the development of an orally bioavailable small molecule inhibitor of CD73, ORIC-533, that targets adenosine within a key metabolic pathway upon which tumors become dependent. Many cancers usurp the anti-inflammatory adenosine pathway to avoid detection by the immune system, thereby reducing the effectiveness of certain chemotherapy and immunotherapy-based treatments. Accumulation of adenosine in the tumor microenvironment is implicated in local immune suppression that leads to tumor growth. CD73 is an enzyme that controls the rate at which extracellular adenosine is produced and its overexpression is associated with poor prognosis in several cancers, including TNBC, NSCLC, multiple myeloma, melanoma and prostate, among others. In addition to our CD73 program, we are developing multiple programs focused on addressing key dependencies in solid tumors, defined as either unaddressed drivers of innate resistance, acquired mutations or bypass mechanisms that cause relapse.
Our resistance platform and in-house capabilities in medicinal chemistry and structure-based design enable drug discovery efforts for these resistance mechanisms. This platform, along with our forward and reverse translation expertise, underpins our efforts to address key drivers of cancer resistance.
8
Our pipeline to treat cancer resistance
Our portfolio currently consists of multiple internally discovered and in-licensed programs targeting key resistance mechanisms in cancer. Our product candidates are shown in the figure below:
Our most advanced discovery and research programs are shown in the figure below:
Brain penetrant EGFR/HER2 program: ORIC-114
Background
The ErbB receptor tyrosine kinase family is involved in key cellular functions, including cell growth and survival. EGFR and HER2 exon 20 insertion mutations are observed across multiple solid tumors, including NSCLC, breast, gastrointestinal, bladder and other cancers. EGFR exon 20 insertion mutations are observed in approximately 2.1% of all patients with NSCLC and these patients have a worse prognosis than patients with NSCLC driven by other EGFR mutations. HER2 exon 20 insertion mutations are observed in approximately 1.5% of all patients with NSCLC and atypical EGFR mutations are observed in approximately 2.9% of all patients with NSCLC. Outside of NSCLC, it is estimated that EGFR and HER2 exon 20 insertion mutations are observed in approximately 0.6% of patients. In total, these prevalence estimates suggest a target population in non-small cell lung cancer of over 12,500 patients in the US annually, plus an additional 8,500 patients across other cancers.
In addition to the EGFR and HER2 exon 20 insertion population, HER2 amplifications are commonly observed in metastatic breast cancer and can also be observed in other malignancies such as certain gastrointestinal tumors. HER2-positive breast cancer represents approximately 25% of all breast cancers and up to half of the HER2-positive breast cancer patients develop brain metastases over the course of their disease.
Rationale for brain penetrant inhibitor of EGFR/HER2 with high potency towards exon 20 mutations
Currently, the medicines approved by the FDA specifically to treat NSCLC with EGFR or HER2 exon 20 insertion mutations provide limited benefit for patients with active brain metastases. Within NSCLC, approximately one-third of patients with exon 20 insertion mutations develop brain metastases, which contributes to poor prognosis. Several companies are developing EGFR exon 20
9
inhibitors; however, to our knowledge none have demonstrated significant CNS activity in patients suitable for addressing brain metastases, an area of significant unmet medical need.
(1) Robichaux et al Nat Med (2018). EGFR exon 20 insertion (n=9) and classical EGFR mutation (n=129)
EGFR exon 20 insertions are associated with lower PFS with first and second generation EGFR TKIs, such as erlotinib, gefitinib and afatinib, compared to other EGFR mutations.
Preclinical data
ORIC-114 was designed as a brain penetrant, orally bioavailable, irreversible inhibitor designed to selectively target EGFR and HER2 with nanomolar potency towards exon 20 insertion mutations. As shown in the figure below, in a kinase selectivity panel, the ErbB receptor tyrosine kinases were strong hits and there were no off-targets identified for ORIC-114, unlike the comparator clinical compounds.
Kinome selectivity screens were conducted on a 468 kinase panel with 1 uM of either CLN-081, furmonertinib, mobocertinib or ORIC-114 in a head-to-head assessment. BLU-451 results were attained from data presented by Blueprint Medicines at the AACR Conference in 2022. BLU-451 data was from 409 kinases at 1 uM and was not conducted head-to-head with ORIC-114. The number of off-target kinase hits with inhibition of 80-100% are shown in the table. Notably, ORIC-114 did not hit any of the 3F family of kinases with the potential for covalent Cys interaction in the active site.
10
ORIC-114 demonstrated potent anti-tumor activity in various NSCLC EGFR exon 20 insertion mutation models. In the examples below, in models carrying the variants NPH, ASV and insG, ORIC-114 demonstrated potent anti-tumor activity when dosed orally once daily at 4 mg/kg.
In the head-to-head in vivo study in an EGFR exon 20 insertion lung cancer model shown below, ORIC-114 demonstrated greater antitumor activity than BDTX-189 and CLN-081. A 90% complete response rate was observed for ORIC-114 at the well tolerated dose of 3mg/kg once daily compared to no complete responses observed for BDTX-189, and only two complete responses for CLN-081. Additionally, in the CLN-081 cohort, 25% of the animals had to come off-study due to significant weight loss. Collectively, these in vivo data indicate the potential for a broader therapeutic index of ORIC-114.
Note: LU0387 lung adenocarcinoma EGFR ex20ins H773-V774insNPH xenograft model. N = 8-10 mice per group. CR defined as < 30 mm3.
ORIC-114 was designed for brain penetrance and demonstrated potent anti-tumor activity in an intracranial NSCLC EGFR exon 19 deletion mutation in vivo model, when dosed orally at 2.5 mg/kg QD, superior to TAK-788 which was dosed orally at 30 mg/kg QD and osimertinib at 10 mg/kg QD. Efficacy was measured by quantification of the bioluminescence photon flux in mice carrying intracranial PC9-Luc tumors.
11
A key feature of ORIC-114 differentiation is that it was designed to optimize brain exposure across multiple parameters, including pump engagement, physicochemical properties, and free unbound fraction in the brain. Together, these compound characteristics translate in vivo into a high brain to plasma ratio in mice of nearly 1, as shown in the graph below, which depicts the free unbound fraction. Importantly, ORIC-114 high brain to plasma ratio was maintained at both 1 and 4 hours. In comparison with other clinical compounds, ORIC-114 free brain to plasma ratios are on par with osimertinib, which is deemed a CNS clinically active compound. In contrast, the free brain to plasma ratio of ORIC-114 is superior to other exon 20 directed agents such as TAK-788 and CLN-081, and is also superior to the HER2 agent, tucatinib, and its active metabolite. In summary, the limitations of current therapies to address brain metastases in both the exon 20 mutant population and the HER2-positive patient population, present an opportunity for ORIC-114.
In October 2023 we also presented a poster highlighting preclinical activity of ORIC-114 against atypical mutations in EGFR at the ESMO Congress. We assessed a variety of atypical driver mutations in EGFR and found that ORIC-114 showed strong cellular potency against both classes of atypical mutations – primary and acquired resistance mutations and a superior profile compared to competitors. On the right side of the figure below, ORIC-114 produced strong in vivo efficacy in a model bearing the EGFR G719S mutation, which is the most commonly mutated site amongst atypical mutations of EGFR.
12
Rationale for brain penetrant inhibitor of HER2 amplification
HER2-positive breast cancer represents approximately 25% of all breast cancers and up to half of the HER2-positive breast cancer patients develop brain metastases over the course of their disease. Most current FDA approved HER2-directed therapies are not effective at crossing the blood-brain-barrier. Tucatinib was approved for HER2-positive breast cancer patients with brain metastases; however, we hypothesize that tucatinib activity may be limited by modest brain exposure of the parent drug and its active metabolite. Several companies are developing HER2 inhibitors; however, to our knowledge none have demonstrated significant brain exposure suitable for addressing brain metastases, an area of significant unmet medical need.
The in vivo result shown on the figure below on the left indicates that orally dosed ORIC-114 has strong anti-tumor activity systemically in a subcutaneous HER2-positive breast cancer model, with tumor growth inhibition of 111% and two complete responses. ORIC-114 and tucatinib both demonstrate regressions in this subcutaneous model. However, in the figure below on the right, in the same HER2-positive breast cancer model with the tumors grown intracranially, oral dosing of ORIC-114 showed significant tumor growth inhibition in this intracranial model, with superior antitumor activity in the brain versus tucatinib.
In the fourth quarter of 2021, we filed a CTA for ORIC-114 in South Korea, which was cleared in the first quarter of 2022. We also filed and cleared an IND with the FDA for ORIC-114 in the third quarter of 2022. We are enrolling a Phase 1b trial of ORIC-114 as a single-agent, in patients with advanced solid tumors with EGFR and HER2 exon 20 alterations, atypical EGFR mutations or HER2 amplifications, and that trial allows patients with CNS metastases that are either treated or untreated but asymptomatic.
Initial Phase 1 dose escalation data of ORIC-114
We reported initial Phase 1b data for ORIC-114 at the ESMO Congress in October 2023, which demonstrated both systemic and intracranial activity across multiple doses in a heavily pre-treated patient population. As summarized in the table below, a total of
13
50 patients were treated with increasing doses of ORIC-114. Of the 21 patients with EGFR exon 20 mutated lung cancer, 81% had received one or more EGFR exon 20 targeted agent and 86% of the patients had CNS involvement at baseline. This is a marked contrast to the patient populations that have been enrolled by the current approved and late-stage investigational programs, which are largely exon 20 inhibitor naïve and typically have approximately 35% of patients with CNS involvement at baseline.
Patient disposition and baseline characteristics.
Note: All data as of the data cutoff on September 26, 2023
ORIC-114 was well tolerated with minimal EGFR wild type related adverse events and little evidence of off-target toxicities. The vast majority of adverse events were Grade 1 or 2 in severity, with a low 6% rate of Grade 3 diarrhea and no events of Grade 3 or higher rash. There was a low rate of dose reductions and only 4% dose discontinuations due to safety. The most common adverse events observed are summarized below.
14
Treatment related adverse events occurring in ≥ 10% of patients:
Note: All data as of the data cutoff on September 26, 2023
The waterfall plot below depicts efficacy-evaluable patients with EGFR exon 20 mutated lung cancer who received a total daily dose of 45 mg or higher and had at least one post-baseline tumor assessment performed. Across the four different total daily doses, 11 of the 15 patients received prior amivantamab and the majority experienced tumor shrinkage, with RECIST responses consisting of multiple partial responses, including one patient treated at 45 mg once daily who had two of three CNS lesions resolve on therapy, and most notably, one confirmed complete response with a complete response in the brain, in a post-amivantamab patient treated at 75 mg once daily.
15
Preliminary activity (NSCLC patients with EGFR exon 20 and treated at ≥ 45 mg QD)
Note: All data as of the data cutoff on September 26, 2023
This patient, a 55-year-old woman with EGFR exon 20 mutated NSCLC previously treated and progressed on platinum-based chemotherapy followed by amivantamab, had four active CNS non-target lesions at study entry that had not been previously treated with either surgery or radiation. The patient received 75 mg once daily of ORIC-114, and by the end of the first cycle had a 60% reduction in all systemic target lesions, which improved to a complete response at the next cycle, with 100% reduction of all target lesions and disappearance of non-target lesions. The complete response was subsequently confirmed. The patient also had a complete response of all CNS disease after the first cycle with complete resolution of all four CNS lesions, which was also confirmed at a later scan.
16
Confirmed intracranial and systemic response in a patient with EGFR exon 20 mutated NSCLC and active CNS metastases that progressed on prior EGFR exon 20 targeted therapy.
The waterfall plot below depicts patients with HER2 exon 20 mutated lung cancer, who received a total daily dose of 45 mg or higher and had at least one post-baseline scan and therefore were efficacy evaluable. Across the four different total daily doses, there were five responses, and one of the confirmed partial responses consisted of a 100% decrease in all target lesions, with only persistent non-target lesions preventing a complete response determination.
Preliminary activity (NSCLC patients with HER2 exon 20 and treated at ≥ 45 mg QD)
Note: All data as of the data cutoff on September 26, 2023
17
As of October 21, 2023, the Phase 1b trial of ORIC-114 was ongoing to determine the candidate recommended Phase 2 doses for dose expansion, and subsequently the selection of the final recommended Phase 2 dose. We expect to initiate the dose expansion portion of the study in the first half of 2024 and include NSCLC patients with EGFR exon 20 insertion mutations that are EGFR exon 20 inhibitor-naïve, HER2 exon 20 insertion mutations, and atypical EGFR mutations. We expect to report updated Phase 1b data for ORIC-114 in the first half of 2025.
PRC2 inhibitor program: ORIC-944
Background
PRC2 is a histone methyltransferase complex consisting of three core subunits: EED, EZH2 or EZH1, and SUZ12 and plays a key role in gene regulation and transcriptional repression, in particular during embryonic development. The dysregulation of PRC2 can lead to tumorigenesis in a wide range of cancers including prostate cancer, breast cancer, and hematological malignancies. EED is responsible for histone binding and activation of PRC2. Allosteric inhibition of EED impacts the assembly, stabilization, and activation of PRC2.
Rationale for targeting allosteric inhibition of PRC2 through EED
PRC2 has two druggable subunits, EZH2, whose enzymatic function is the target of first generation therapeutics, and EED, which next-generation therapeutics like ORIC-944 inhibit. Several companies are developing EZH2 inhibitors; however, the pharmacologic properties of these compounds result in high doses given more than once a day, that achieve only partial target inhibition in the clinic. Allosteric inhibition of PRC2 through EED is differentiated from targeting EZH2 and may be beneficial for a number of reasons. First, preclinical studies show that EED inhibition is active against mutants in EZH2 that confer innate resistance to EZH2 inhibitors. Second, in a similar fashion, acquired mutations in EZH2 are sensitive to EED inhibition. Third, cells treated with EZH2 inhibitors are also able to activate EHZ1 in a compensatory bypass mechanism of resistance, yet those cells are sensitive to EED inhibition.
Note: EZH1, enhancer of zeste homolog 1. EZH2, enhancer of zeste homolog 2. EED, embryonic ectoderm development. SUZ12, suppressor of zeste 12. H3K27, histone H3 at lysine 27.
(1) Yu et al. Cancer Res. (2007).
Preclinical Data
ORIC-944 is a potent and selective allosteric inhibitor of PRC2 with mechanism of action via binding the EED subunit that was designed to have superior drug properties compared to EZH2 inhibitors. ORIC-944 when dosed orally once a day as a single-agent significantly inhibited prostate tumor growth in androgen insensitive and enzalutamide-resistant prostate cancer models as seen in the figures below. While cross-study comparisons of preclinical data have limitations and caveats, the ORIC-944 efficacy appears to be superior to EZH2 inhibitors in the same models.
18
Note: ORIC-944 dose used was 200 mg/kg QD. Enzalutamide dose used was 30 mg/kg QD. ****p < 0.0001. Left graph: C4-2 xenograft model. Right graph: 22Rv1 xenograft model.
Additional preclinical studies with ORIC-944 as a monotherapy and in combination regimens are being explored. We filed and cleared an IND with the FDA for ORIC-944 in the fourth quarter of 2021. We are enrolling a Phase 1b trial of ORIC-944 as a single-agent, in patients with advanced prostate cancer.
Initial Phase 1 dose escalation data of ORIC-944
We reported initial Phase 1b monotherapy data for ORIC-944 in patients with metastatic prostate cancer in January 2024. As of December 10, 2023, these data demonstrated potential best-in-class drug properties, including clinical half-life consistent with a preclinical prediction of greater than 10 hours and no signs of cytochrome P450 autoinduction that is seen with first-generation PRC2 inhibitors.
Preliminary Phase 1b Pharmacokinetics Data:
There was robust target engagement, with maximal decrease (≥75%) in H3K27me3 in monocytes from peripheral blood samples at doses as low as 200 mg QD with low inter-patient variability.
19
Preliminary Phase 1b Pharmacodynamic Data:
There was also a favorable safety profile, with only grade 1 and 2 treatment-related adverse events at dose levels corresponding with strong target engagement. This emerging profile with superior drug properties supports advancement of ORIC-944 into combination development in prostate cancer with AR inhibitor(s).
CD73 inhibitor program: ORIC-533
Background on adenosine and CD73
Adenosine, a purine nucleoside base, is an extracellular signaling molecule derived from adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Adenosine is a potent suppressor of immune function and accumulates in tissues at sites of inflammation and damage. Analogously, in the context of tumors, adenosine in the tumor microenvironment is implicated in local immunosuppression that leads to tumor growth. Extracellular ATP is metabolized to AMP by the enzyme CD39, and AMP is metabolized to adenosine by the enzyme CD73. Adenosine, via its interaction with adenosine receptors, functions to suppress immune function. Multiple cell types within the tumor milieu, including cancer cells, endothelial cells and immune cells, express CD73.
Rationale for targeting CD73 in oncology
Many cancers usurp the anti-inflammatory adenosine pathway to avoid detection by the immune system, thereby reducing the effectiveness of certain chemotherapy- and immunotherapy-based treatments. Accumulation of adenosine in the tumor microenvironment is implicated in local immune suppression that leads to tumor growth. As shown in the figure below, CD73 is an enzyme that controls the rate at which extracellular adenosine is produced, and its overexpression is associated with poor prognosis in several cancers, including TNBC, NSCLC, multiple myeloma, melanoma and prostate, among others. Several global pharmaceutical companies are developing anti-CD73 antibodies, but due to significant medicinal chemistry challenges, to our knowledge, only one other orally bioavailable inhibitor of CD73 is in clinical development. With our resistance platform capabilities, our medicinal chemistry team created a differentiated compound that is both potent and orally bioavailable.
20
CD73 has been linked to therapy resistance
Preclinical data
ORIC-533 is an orally bioavailable small molecule that potently and selectively antagonizes CD73 enzymatic function (< 1nM) and fully inhibits CD73-mediated AMP to adenosine conversion both in human tumor cells and immune cells. Preclinical studies show that ORIC-533 restores CD8+ T-cell expansion and activation of adenosine-induced immunosuppression. Reversal of adenosine-induced intratumoral immunosuppression with ORIC-533 leads to significant anti-tumor responses in vivo.
In the figure above on the left, an ORIC-533 analogue decreased adenosine production in a concentration-dependent manner in cultured human CD8+ T cells and human H1568 cancer cells. While an ORIC-533 analogue can completely block adenosine production by immune and tumor cells, an anti-CD73 antibody is unable to achieve the same degree of functional inhibition. In the figure above on the right, a single oral dose of our compound in mice achieved unbound plasma exposures that exceed the in vitro EC90 levels required for suppression of adenosine production for 24 hours.
21
Moreover, CD73 inhibition in vivo substantially reduced the adenosine/AMP ratio in EMT6 mouse tumors following sustained CD73 inhibitor treatment.
Source: ORIC data using syngeneic EG7 tumor model, AACR June 2020 abstract 10268, poster LB-115
*: p<0.005. ***: p = 0.0006. ****: p < 0.0001.
In the figure above on the left, daily CD73 inhibitor treatment with our product candidate ORIC-533 significantly impairs syngeneic tumor growth and tumor size as an orally dosed single-agent. Evaluation of tumors at the end of study, on the right above, show the depletion of adenosine and corresponding increase in T cells in the tumor microenvironment.
When compared to other CD73 inhibitors in preclinical studies, ORIC-533 more potently suppressed adenosine production from AMP in both T cells and tumor cells, and at nM concentrations was able to rescue activation of CD8+ T cells exposed to a high AMP environment.
Source: ORIC data, AACR June 2020 abstract 4317, poster 1023
*: Bowman et al, 2019. **: WO2019246403A1 Compound 9. ***: WO2019168744A1 Example 2
The above figure demonstrates the results of a series of preclinical experiments that we conducted evaluating ORIC-533, AB680, Antengene, and Eli Lilly compounds across a variety of properties that we believe to be important in developing a potent and efficacious CD73 inhibitor. In the figure and table on the left above, human PBMCs, H1568 NSCLC cells, and human CD8+ T cells were pre-treated with compounds for 15 minutes, followed by addition of 10 uM AMP/5 uM EHNA for 1 hour. Adenosine in
22
supernatant was quantified by LC-MS/MS. The biochemical binding assay was carried out with purified CD73 protein and compounds assessed at a wide concentration range to calculate IC50. In the figure on the above right, human PBMC-derived CD8+ T cells were activated for 24 hours with tetrameric anti-CD3/CD28/CD2 antibodies in serum free media, labeled with CellTraceTM Violet and plated onto 96-well plates. Compounds at varying concentrations and 1 millimolar AMP were added, and cells incubated for 72-96 hours. T cell proliferation was quantified by flow cytometry. TNFa cytokine production in cell supernatants was measured by Meso Scale Discovery immunoassay.
In the second quarter of 2021, the FDA cleared the IND for ORIC-533 and, in the first quarter of 2023, a CTA was cleared in Canada for ORIC-533. We are enrolling a Phase 1b trial of ORIC-533 as a single-agent, in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.
In the fourth quarter of 2021, we presented data supporting the therapeutic potential of ORIC-533 in multiple myeloma. Key highlights included:
•
Patient samples from multiple myeloma demonstrated that the tumor environment is adenosine rich and further studies have shown that high CD73 and high adenosine are associated with poor prognosis and therapeutic resistance in multiple myeloma.
•
Compelling mechanistic rationale, supported by research from Dr. Kenneth Anderson’s lab at Dana Farber Cancer Institute. As shown on the figures on the right below, ORIC CD73 inhibitor reversed adenosine driven immunosuppression and restored T-cell activity to induce killing of multiple myeloma cells from patients.
Source: Ray et al. ASH Poster (2021).
In additional ex vivo studies, mononuclear cells taken from the bone marrow of three multiple myeloma patient donors were cultured in the presence and absence of ORIC CD73 inhibitor, after which fluorescence activated cell sorting analysis was used to quantify the amount of myeloma cell death. As shown in the figure on the right below, the addition of the CD73 inhibitor induced an average of approximately 40% lysis of multiple myeloma cells in this ex-vivo patient assay. The ORIC CD73 inhibitor activity in the ex vivo assay from patients with multiple myeloma compares favorably to data previously reported with approved therapies for the treatment of multiple myeloma, including lenalidomide, bortezomib and daratumumab.
23
Source: Nijhof et al. Clin Cancer Res (2015) and Ray et al. ASH Poster (2021). Note: LEN, lenalidomide. DARA, daratumumab. BOR, bortezomib.
Initial Phase 1 dose escalation data of ORIC-533
We reported initial Phase 1b data for ORIC-533 at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting in December 2023, which demonstrated preliminary evidence of clinical antimyeloma activity in multiple patients and a clean safety profile with only Grade 1 and 2 treatment-related adverse events and no dose limiting toxicities or dose reductions.
As of November 28, 2023, a total of 23 patients with multiple myeloma received doses ranging from 400 mg to 2400 mg once daily. The study included a heavily pretreated patient population: 100% of patients were triple-class refractory, 91% were penta-refractory, and 57% also received prior anti-BCMA bispecific antibody and/or CAR-T therapy. ORIC-533 demonstrated a favorable pharmacokinetic profile with an estimated plasma half-life of ~24 hours, which supports QD dosing, and clinical exposures that achieved concentrations associated with efficacy in ex vivo models. ORIC-533 also demonstrated strong inhibition of soluble CD73 enzymatic activity across all dose levels, highlighting good target engagement, including in the bone marrow and was well tolerated with only Grade 1 and 2 treatment-related adverse events, without any specific recurrent toxicity. ORIC-533 exhibited clear evidence of immune activation in the majority of patients dosed at ≥ 1200 mg, as evidenced by an increased abundance and fraction of activated CD8+ T cells and NK cells. At the 1600 mg dose, there were notable reductions in soluble BCMA levels in serum, indicating that ORIC-533 was having a measurable antimyeloma effect. Soluble BCMA levels have been reported to correlate with clinical response on treatment and predict progression free survival of various therapies. There were multiple examples of clinical activity, including a confirmed minor response in a patient with penta-refractory myeloma who had progressed on an anti-BCMA bispecific antibody three months before study entry.
We intend to complete the dose escalation for ORIC-533 in the first quarter of 2024. We intend to evaluate strategic partnerships to develop ORIC-533 in combination with other immune-based antimyeloma therapies.
Other preclinical programs
In addition to our product candidates, we are leveraging our resistance platform in pursuit of multiple discovery research programs that focus on our expertise within hormone-dependent cancers, precision oncology and key tumor dependencies. These programs highlight our medicinal chemistry and structure-based design expertise, and thus for the most part utilize a small molecule therapeutic approach to target oncogenic drivers in solid tumors like prostate, breast, and lung cancer that relapse with innate, acquired or bypass resistance. Our most advanced small molecule discovery research program is currently in preclinical studies.
•
PLK4 Program: a small molecule therapeutic intended to address a mechanism of innate resistance found in a subset of breast cancers, specifically a synthetic lethal interaction of PLK4 inhibition in tumors bearing a TRIM37 DNA amplification/elevation. Breast cancer models as well as other tumor models with this TRIM37 amplification have a key tumor dependency on PLK4 and our therapeutic approach is to inhibit this enzyme. The development candidate, ORIC-613, is an orally bioavailable, highly selective inhibitor of PLK4, and in preclinical studies shows synthetic lethality in tumor models with high levels of TRIM37. IND enabling studies were completed for our ORIC-613 development candidate.
•
Discovery Program A: a small molecule therapeutic intended to address an acquired resistance mechanism in lung cancer.
24
•
Discovery Program B: a small molecule therapeutic intended to address a synthetic lethal interaction in breast and prostate cancers.
Our license agreements
Voronoi license agreement
On October 19, 2020, we entered into the Voronoi License Agreement, a license and collaboration agreement, with Voronoi. The Voronoi License Agreement gives us access to Voronoi’s preclinical stage EGFR and HER2 exon 20 insertion mutation program, including a lead product candidate now designated as ORIC-114. Under the Voronoi License Agreement, Voronoi granted us an exclusive, sublicensable license under Voronoi’s rights to certain patent applications directed to certain small molecule compounds that bind to EGFR and HER2 with one or more exon 20 insertion mutations and certain related know-how, in each case, to develop and commercialize certain licensed compounds and licensed products incorporating any such compound in the ORIC Territory, defined as worldwide other than in the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. Under the Voronoi License Agreement, Voronoi had the right to perform certain mutually agreed upon development activities. Except for Voronoi’s right to participate in such development activities, we are wholly responsible for development and commercialization of licensed products in the ORIC Territory. In addition, we are obligated to use commercially reasonable efforts to develop and commercialize at least one licensed product in certain major markets in the ORIC Territory.
Our financial obligations under the Voronoi License Agreement included an upfront payment of $5.0 million in cash and the issuance to Voronoi of 283,259 shares of our common stock issued pursuant to a stock issuance agreement entered into between the parties on October 19, 2020. The number of shares issued pursuant to the stock issuance agreement was based on a price of $28.24 per share, representing a premium of 25% to the 30-day trailing volume weighted average trading price of our common stock. The shares were issued in a private placement in reliance on Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (Securities Act), for transactions by an issuer not involving any public offering.
Under the Voronoi License Agreement, Voronoi was responsible for certain research and development costs up to a predetermined threshold. Upon achievement of the predetermined threshold in the second quarter of 2022, Voronoi chose to opt out of participation in and funding of future development activities. We are also obligated to make milestone payments to Voronoi upon the achievement of certain events. Upon the achievement of certain development and regulatory milestones with respect to the first licensed product, we are obligated to pay Voronoi up to a maximum of $111.0 million. Upon the achievement of certain commercial milestones with respect to the first licensed product, we are obligated to pay Voronoi up to a maximum of $225.0 million. If we pursue a second licensed product, we could pay Voronoi up to an additional $272.0 million in success-based milestones. In addition, we are obligated to pay royalties on net sales of licensed products in the ORIC Territory. In the third quarter of 2022, we made a development milestone payment to Voronoi in the amount of $5.0 million, which was recorded in acquired in-process research and development expense.
Unless earlier terminated, the Voronoi License Agreement will continue in effect until the expiration of all royalty payment obligations. Following the expiration of the Voronoi License Agreement, we will retain our licenses under the intellectual property Voronoi licensed to us on a royalty-free basis. We and Voronoi may each terminate the Voronoi License Agreement if the other party materially breaches the terms of such agreement, subject to specified notice and cure provisions, or enters into bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings. Voronoi may also terminate the agreement if we discontinue development of licensed products for a specified period of time. We also have the right to terminate the Voronoi License Agreement without cause by providing prior notice to Voronoi.
If Voronoi terminates the Voronoi License Agreement for cause, or we terminate the Voronoi License Agreement without cause, then we are obligated to grant a nonexclusive license to Voronoi under certain of our patents and know-how and to assign to Voronoi certain of our regulatory filings for licensed compounds and licensed products.
Mirati license agreement
On August 3, 2020, we entered into the Mirati License Agreement. Under the Mirati License Agreement, Mirati granted us a worldwide, exclusive, sublicensable, royalty-free license under Mirati’s rights to certain patents and patent applications directed to certain small molecule compounds that bind to and inhibit PRC2 and certain related know-how, in each case, to develop and commercialize certain licensed compounds and licensed products incorporating any such compound. Under the Mirati License Agreement, we are wholly responsible for development and commercialization of licensed products. In addition, we are obligated to use commercially reasonable efforts to develop and commercialize at least one licensed product in certain major markets.
25
Our financial obligation under the Mirati License Agreement was an upfront payment of 588,235 shares of our common stock, issued pursuant to a stock issuance agreement entered into between the parties on August 3, 2020. The number of shares issued was based on a price of $34.00 per share, representing a premium of 10% to the 60-day trailing volume weighted average trading price of our common stock. The shares were issued in a private placement in reliance on Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act for transactions by an issuer not involving any public offering. During the eighteen-month period following the date of the agreement, Mirati is subject to certain transfer restrictions, and the parties agreed to negotiate and enter into a registration rights agreement, with respect to the shares. We are not obligated to pay Mirati milestones or royalties.
Unless earlier terminated, the Mirati License Agreement will continue in effect on a country-by-country and licensed product-by-licensed product basis until the later of (a) the expiration of the last valid claim of a licensed patent covering such licensed product in such country or (b) ten years after the first commercial sale of such licensed product in such country. Following the expiration of the Mirati License Agreement, we will retain our licenses under the intellectual property Mirati licensed to us on a royalty-free basis. We and Mirati may each terminate the Mirati License Agreement if the other party materially breaches the terms of such agreement, subject to specified notice and cure provisions, or enters into bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings. Mirati may terminate the agreement if we challenge any of the patent rights licensed to us by Mirati or we discontinue development of licensed products for a specified period of time. We also have the right to terminate the Mirati License Agreement without cause by providing prior notice to Mirati.
On October 8, 2023, Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) and Mirati announced that they entered into a definitive merger agreement under which BMS through a subsidiary will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Mirati common stock. The Mirati License Agreement continued in effect upon consummation of the transaction, which closed on January 23, 2024.
If BMS terminates the Mirati License Agreement, or we terminate the Mirati License Agreement without cause, then we are obligated to assign to BMS, or grant an exclusive license to BMS with respect to, certain of our patents, know-how and regulatory filings directed to licensed compounds and licensed products.
Clinical Development Collaboration
Pfizer collaboration
On December 21, 2022, we entered into a clinical development collaboration (the Pfizer Collaboration) for a potential Phase 2 study of ORIC-533 in multiple myeloma with Pfizer Inc. (Pfizer). Through the Pfizer Collaboration, we may potentially advance ORIC-533 into a Phase 2 combination study with elranatamab, Pfizer’s investigational B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) and CD3-targeted bispecific antibody in development for the treatment of multiple myeloma. We will maintain full economic ownership and control of ORIC-533. In conjunction with the Pfizer Collaboration, Jeff Settleman, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, Oncology Research & Development, Pfizer, joined our Scientific Advisory Board for ORIC-533.
Concurrent with the Pfizer Collaboration, we sold 5,376,344 shares of common stock at a price of $4.65 per share to Pfizer for proceeds of $25.0 million. The common shares were sold to Pfizer in a registered direct offering conducted without an underwriter or placement agent. The transaction closed on December 23, 2022.
Sales and marketing
We intend to retain significant development and commercial rights to our product candidates and, if marketing approval is obtained, to commercialize our product candidates on our own, or potentially with a partner, in the United States and other regions. We currently have no sales, marketing or commercial product distribution capabilities. We intend to build the necessary infrastructure and capabilities over time for the United States, and potentially other regions, following further advancement of our product candidates. Clinical data, the size of the addressable patient population, the size of the required commercial infrastructure and manufacturing needs may all influence or alter our commercialization plans.
Manufacturing
We do not own or operate, and currently have no plans to establish, any manufacturing facilities. We rely, and expect to continue to rely, on third parties for the manufacture of our product candidates for preclinical and clinical testing, as well as for commercial manufacture if any of our product candidates obtain marketing approval. We also rely, and expect to continue to rely, on third parties to package, label, store and distribute our investigational product candidates, as well as for our commercial products if marketing approval is obtained. We believe that this strategy allows us to maintain a more efficient infrastructure by eliminating the
26
need for us to invest in our own manufacturing facilities, equipment and personnel while also enabling us to focus our expertise and resources on the development of our product candidates.
To date, we have obtained active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and drug product for our product candidates from single-source third party contract manufacturers. We are in the process of developing our supply chain for each of our product candidates and intend to put in place framework agreements under which third-party contract manufacturers will generally provide us with necessary quantities of API and drug product on a project-by-project basis based on our development needs.
As we advance our product candidates through development, we will consider whether to change our lack of redundant supply for the API and drug product for each of our product candidates to protect against any potential supply disruptions.
We generally expect to rely on third parties for the manufacture of any companion diagnostics we may develop.
Intellectual property
We strive to protect and enhance the proprietary technology, inventions and improvements that are commercially important to our business, including obtaining, maintaining and defending our patent rights. Our policy is to seek to protect our proprietary position by, among other methods, filing patent applications and obtaining issued patents, or in-licensing issued patents and patent applications, in the United States and in markets outside of the United States directed to our proprietary technology, inventions, improvements and product candidates that are important to the development and implementation of our business. We also rely on trade secrets and know-how relating to our proprietary technology and product candidates and continuing innovation to develop, strengthen and maintain our proprietary position in the field of oncology. We also plan to rely on data exclusivity, market exclusivity and patent term extensions when available. Our commercial success will depend in part on our ability to obtain and maintain patent and other proprietary protection for our technology, inventions, improvements and product candidates; to preserve the confidentiality of our trade secrets; to defend and enforce our proprietary rights, including any patents that we may own or license in the future; and to operate without infringing on the valid and enforceable patents and other proprietary rights of third parties.
Our patent portfolio consists of issued patents and pending patent applications that we own or in-licensed related to ORIC-114, ORIC-944, ORIC-533 and various other compounds and programs. As of December 31, 2023, the portfolio includes 13 issued United States patents, 31 pending United States patent applications, 11 pending international patent applications filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT application), 76 issued patents in various markets outside of the United States, and more than 82 pending patent applications in various markets outside of the United States.
As of December 31, 2023, our patent portfolio covering ORIC-114 that we have exclusively in-licensed from Voronoi in the ORIC Territory include issued patents in Australia, Brazil, Eurasia, India, Israel, Japan, Korea, New Zealand and the United States, along with patent applications pending in the United States, Europe and other markets outside of the United States. We also own a pending PCT application covering certain forms of ORIC-114, and pending United States patent applications covering methods of using ORIC-114. The issued United States patent covering ORIC-114 as composition of matter and pharmaceutical compositions is expected to expire in 2040, absent any patent term adjustments or extensions. Any patents that may issue from the pending patent applications related to ORIC-114 are expected to expire between 2040 and 2044, absent any patent term adjustments or extensions.
As of December 31, 2023, our patent portfolio covering ORIC-944 that we have exclusively in-licensed from Mirati include patents issued in Australia, Brazil, China, Europe, Eurasia, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Japan, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa and the United States, along with patent applications pending in the United States, Europe, Japan and other markets outside of the United States. We also own pending PCT applications and pending United States patent applications covering certain forms and uses of ORIC-944. The issued United States patents covering ORIC-944 as composition of matter, pharmaceutical compositions and related methods of use are expected to expire in 2039, absent any patent term extensions for regulatory delay. Any patents that may issue from the pending patent applications related to ORIC-944 are expected to expire between 2039 and 2044, absent any patent term adjustments or extensions.
As of December 31, 2023, our patent portfolio covering ORIC-533 include patents issued in China, Hong Kong, Eurasia and the United States, along with a pending PCT application, and other patent applications pending in the United States, Europe, Japan and other markets outside of the United States. The issued United States patents covering ORIC-533 as composition of matter, pharmaceutical compositions and related methods of use are expected to expire in 2040, absent any patent term extensions for regulatory delay. Any patents that may issue from our pending patent applications related to ORIC-533 are expected to expire between 2040 and 2044, absent any patent term adjustments or extensions.
We also possess substantial know-how and trade secrets relating to the development and commercialization of our product candidates, including related manufacturing processes and technology.
27
With respect to our product candidates and processes we intend to develop and commercialize in the normal course of business, we intend to pursue patent protection covering, when possible, compositions, methods of use, dosing and formulations. We may also pursue patent protection with respect to manufacturing and drug development processes and technologies.
Issued patents can provide protection for varying periods of time, depending upon the date of filing of the patent application, the date of patent issuance and the legal term of patents in the countries in which they are obtained. In general, patents issued for applications filed in the United States can provide exclusionary rights for 20 years from the earliest effective filing date. In addition, in certain instances, the term of an issued U.S. patent that covers or claims an FDA approved product can be extended to recapture a portion of the term effectively lost as a result of the FDA regulatory review period, which is called patent term extension. The restoration period cannot be longer than five years and the total patent term, including the restoration period, must not exceed 14 years following FDA approval. The term of patents outside of the United States varies in accordance with the laws of the foreign jurisdiction, but typically is also 20 years from the earliest effective filing date. However, the actual protection afforded by a patent varies on a product-by-product basis, from country-to-country and depends upon many factors, including the type of patent, the scope of its coverage, the availability of regulatory-related extensions, the availability of legal remedies in a particular country and the validity and enforceability of the patent.
The patent positions of companies like ours are generally uncertain and involve complex legal and factual questions. No consistent policy regarding the scope of claims allowable in patents in the field of oncology has emerged in the United States. The relevant patent laws and their interpretation outside of the United States is also uncertain. Changes in either the patent laws or their interpretation in the United States and other countries may diminish our ability to protect our technology or product candidates and could affect the value of such intellectual property. In particular, our ability to stop third parties from making, using, selling, offering to sell or importing products that infringe our intellectual property will depend in part on our success in obtaining and enforcing patent claims that cover our technology, inventions and improvements. We cannot guarantee that patents will be granted with respect to any of our pending patent applications or with respect to any patent applications we may file in the future, nor can we be sure that any patents that may be granted to us in the future will be commercially useful in protecting our products, the methods of use or manufacture of those products.
Moreover, even our issued patents may not guarantee us the right to practice our technology in relation to the commercialization of our products. Patent and other intellectual property rights in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology space are evolving and involve many risks and uncertainties. For example, third parties may have blocking patents that could be used to prevent us from commercializing our product candidates and practicing our proprietary technology, and our issued patents may be challenged, invalidated or circumvented, which could limit our ability to stop competitors from marketing related products or could limit the term of patent protection that otherwise may exist for our product candidates. In addition, the scope of the rights granted under any issued patents may not provide us with protection or competitive advantages against competitors with similar technology. Furthermore, our competitors may independently develop similar technologies that are outside the scope of the rights granted under any issued patents. For these reasons, we may face competition with respect to our product candidates. Moreover, because of the extensive time required for development, testing and regulatory review of a potential product, it is possible that, before any particular product candidate can be commercialized, any patent protection for such product may expire or remain in force for only a short period following commercialization, thereby reducing the commercial advantage the patent provides.
Competition
The pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries are characterized by rapidly advancing technologies, intense competition and a strong emphasis on proprietary products. While we believe that our technology, the expertise of our executive and scientific team, research, clinical capabilities, development experience and scientific knowledge provide us with competitive advantages, we face increasing competition from many different sources, including pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, academic institutions, governmental agencies and public and private research institutions. Product candidates that we successfully develop and commercialize may compete with existing therapies and new therapies that may become available in the future.
Many of our competitors, either alone or with their collaborators, have significantly greater financial resources, established presence in the market, expertise in research and development, manufacturing, preclinical and clinical testing, obtaining regulatory approvals and reimbursement and marketing approved products than we do. These competitors also compete with us in recruiting and retaining qualified scientific and management personnel, establishing clinical trial sites and patient registration for clinical trials, as well as in acquiring technologies complementary to, or necessary for, our programs. Smaller or early-stage companies may also prove to be significant competitors, particularly through collaborative arrangements with large and established companies. Additional mergers and acquisitions may result in even more resources being concentrated in our competitors.
Our commercial potential could be reduced or eliminated if our competitors develop and commercialize products that are safer, more effective, have fewer or less severe side effects, are more convenient or are less expensive than products that we may
28
develop. Our competitors also may obtain FDA or other regulatory approval for their products more rapidly than we may obtain approval for ours, which could result in our competitors establishing a strong market position before we are able to enter the market or that may make our development more complicated. The key competitive factors affecting the success of all of our programs are likely to be efficacy, safety and convenience.
For ORIC-114, we are aware that Johnson & Johnson has an FDA-approved product for patients with EGFR exon 20 insertion mutations, and Daiichi Sankyo in collaboration with AstraZeneca has an FDA-approved product for patients with HER2 mutations, including HER2 exon 20 insertion mutations. We are also aware of several companies developing inhibitors against EGFR or HER2 exon 20 insertion mutations and atypical EGFR mutations that are currently in clinical trials, including Dizal Pharmaceuticals, Cullinan Oncology in collaboration with Taiho Pharmaceutical, Bayer, ArriVent BioPharma in collaboration with Allist Pharmaceuticals, Boehringer Ingelheim, Blueprint Medicines, Enliven Therapeutics, Merus N.V., Black Diamond Therapeutics and Scorpion Therapeutics in collaboration with Pierre Fabre. Additionally, Seattle Genetics has an FDA-approved product for the treatment of patients with HER2-positive breast cancer, including patients with brain metastases. We are also aware that Dizal Pharmaceuticals and Zion Pharma in collaboration with Roche are developing brain penetrant inhibitors currently in clinical trials for patients with HER2-positive breast cancer.
For ORIC-944, we are aware of several companies developing inhibitors against PRC2 via EZH2 inhibition that are currently in clinical trials, including Ipsen, Morphosys, Daiichi Sankyo, Pfizer, Shanghai HaiHe Pharmaceutical, Treeline Biosciences, Evopoint Biosciences and Hanmi Pharmaceutical. To our knowledge, Ascentage Pharma has an allosteric PRC2 inhibitor in clinical trials for patients with cancer.
For ORIC-533, we are aware of several companies developing antibodies against this target that are in clinical trials, including AstraZeneca, Novartis, Incyte Corporation, Corvus Pharmaceuticals, Innate Pharma, I-Mab, Akeso, Symphogen, Jacobio Pharmaceuticals and Phanes Therapeutics. Other companies, such as Arcus Biosciences in collaboration with Gilead Sciences and Antengene, have small-molecule programs in clinical trials against this target. To our knowledge, only Antengene has an orally available, small molecule CD73 inhibitor in an active clinical trial for patients with cancer.
Government regulation
Government authorities in the United States at the federal, state and local level and in other countries regulate, among other things, the research, development, testing, manufacture, quality control, approval, labeling, packaging, storage, record-keeping, promotion, advertising, distribution, post-approval monitoring and reporting, marketing and export and import of drug and biological products. Generally, before a new drug can be marketed, considerable data demonstrating its quality, safety and efficacy must be obtained, organized into a format specific for each regulatory authority, submitted for review and approved by the regulatory authority.
U.S. drug development
In the United States, the FDA regulates drugs under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938 (FDCA). Drugs also are subject to other federal, state and local statutes and regulations. The process of obtaining regulatory approvals and the subsequent compliance with appropriate federal, state, local and foreign statutes and regulations requires the expenditure of substantial time and financial resources. Failure to comply with the applicable U.S. requirements at any time during the product development process, approval process or post-market may subject an applicant to administrative or judicial sanctions. These sanctions could include, among other actions, the FDA’s refusal to approve pending applications, withdrawal of an approval, a clinical hold, untitled or warning letters, product recalls or market withdrawals, product seizures, total or partial suspension of production or distribution, injunctions, fines, refusals of government contracts, restitution, disgorgement and civil or criminal penalties. Any agency or judicial enforcement action could have a material adverse effect on us.
Our product candidates are considered small molecule drugs and must be approved by the FDA through the new drug application (NDA) process before they may be legally marketed in the United States. The process generally involves the following:
•
completion of extensive preclinical studies in accordance with applicable regulations, including studies conducted in accordance with good laboratory practices (GLPs);
•
submission to the FDA of an IND, which must become effective before human clinical trials may begin;
•
approval by an independent institutional review board (IRB) or ethics committee at each clinical trial site before each trial may be initiated;
29
•
performance of adequate and well-controlled human clinical trials in accordance with applicable IND regulations, good clinical practice (GCP) requirements and other clinical trial-related regulations to establish substantial evidence of the safety and efficacy of the investigational product for each proposed indication;
•
submission to the FDA of an NDA;
•
a determination by the FDA within 60 days of its receipt of an NDA to accept the filing for review;
•
satisfactory completion of an FDA pre-approval inspection of the manufacturing facility or facilities where the drug will be produced to assess compliance with current good manufacturing practice (cGMP) requirements to assure that the facilities, methods and controls are adequate to preserve the drug’s identity, strength, quality and purity;
•
potential FDA audit of the preclinical study and/or clinical trial sites that generated the data in support of the NDA filing;
•
FDA review and approval of the NDA, including consideration of the views of any FDA advisory committee, prior to any commercial marketing or sale of the drug in the United States; and
•
compliance with any post-approval requirements, including the potential requirement to implement a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS), and the potential requirement to conduct post-approval studies. The data required to support an NDA are generated in two distinct developmental stages: preclinical and clinical. The preclinical and clinical testing and approval process requires substantial time, effort and financial resources, and we cannot be certain that any approvals for any current and future product candidates will be granted on a timely basis, or at all.
Preclinical studies and IND/CTA
The preclinical developmental stage generally involves laboratory evaluations of drug chemistry, formulation and stability, as well as studies to evaluate toxicity in animals, which support subsequent clinical testing. The sponsor must submit the results of the preclinical studies, together with manufacturing information, analytical data, any available clinical data or literature and a proposed clinical protocol, to the FDA as part of the IND. An IND submission is a request for authorization from the FDA to administer an investigational product to humans, and must become effective before human clinical trials may begin.
Preclinical studies include laboratory evaluation of product chemistry and formulation, as well as in vitro and animal studies to assess the potential for adverse events and in some cases to establish a rationale for therapeutic use. The conduct of preclinical studies is subject to federal regulations and requirements, including GLP regulations for safety/toxicology studies. An IND sponsor must submit the results of the preclinical tests, together with manufacturing information, analytical data, any available clinical data or literature and plans for clinical studies, among other things, to the FDA as part of an IND submission. Some long-term preclinical testing, such as animal tests of reproductive adverse events and carcinogenicity, may continue after the IND submission is complete. An IND submission automatically becomes effective 30 days after receipt by the FDA, unless before that time the FDA raises concerns or questions related to one or more proposed clinical trials and places the trial on clinical hold. In such a case, the IND sponsor and the FDA must resolve any outstanding concerns before the clinical trial can begin. As a result, submission of an IND may not result in the FDA allowing clinical trials to commence.
IND sponsors follow a process similar to an IND submission, review and approval when filing a CTA with regulatory agencies in other countries.
Clinical trials
The clinical stage of development involves the administration of the investigational product to healthy volunteers or patients under the supervision of qualified investigators, generally physicians not employed by or under the trial sponsor’s control, in accordance with GCP requirements, which include the requirement that all research subjects provide their informed consent for their participation in any clinical trial. Clinical trials are conducted under protocols detailing, among other things, the objectives of the clinical trial, dosing procedures, subject selection and exclusion criteria and the parameters to be used to monitor subject safety and assess efficacy. Each protocol, and any subsequent amendments to the protocol, must be submitted to the FDA as part of the IND submission. Furthermore, each clinical trial must be reviewed and approved by an IRB for each institution at which the clinical trial will be conducted to ensure that the risks to individuals participating in the clinical trials are minimized and are reasonable in relation to anticipated benefits. The IRB must also approve the informed consent form that must be provided to each clinical trial subject or his or her legal representative, and must monitor the clinical trial until completed. There also are requirements governing the reporting of ongoing clinical trials and completed clinical trial results to public registries.
30
A sponsor who wishes to conduct a clinical trial outside of the United States may, but need not, obtain FDA authorization to conduct the clinical trial under an IND submission. If a foreign clinical trial is not conducted under an IND submission, the sponsor may submit data from the clinical trial to the FDA in support of an NDA. The FDA will generally accept a well-designed and well-conducted foreign clinical trial not conducted under an IND submission if the trial was conducted in accordance with the ethical principles contained in the Declaration of Helsinki pursuant to 21 CFR 312.120(c)(4), incorporating the 1989 version of such declaration, or with the laws and regulations of the foreign regulatory authority where the trial was conducted, such as the European Medicines Agency (EMA), whichever provides greater protection of the human subjects, and with GCP and GMP requirements, and the FDA is able to validate the data through an onsite inspection, if deemed necessary, and the practice of medicine in the foreign country is consistent with the United States.
Clinical trials in the United States generally are conducted in three sequential phases, known as Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3, and may overlap.
•
Phase 1 clinical trials generally involve a small number of healthy volunteers or disease-affected patients who are initially exposed to a single dose and then multiple doses of the product candidate. The primary purpose of these clinical trials is to assess the metabolism, pharmacologic action, tolerability and safety of the drug.
•
Phase 2 clinical trials involve studies in disease-affected patients to determine the dose and dosing schedule required to produce the desired benefits. At the same time, safety and further pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic information is collected, possible adverse effects and safety risks are identified, and a preliminary evaluation of efficacy is conducted.
•
Phase 3 clinical trials generally involve a large number of patients at multiple sites and are designed to provide the data necessary to demonstrate the effectiveness of the product for its intended use, its safety in use and to establish the overall benefit/risk relationship of the product and provide an adequate basis for product approval. These trials may include comparisons with placebo and/or other comparator treatments. The duration of treatment is often extended to mimic the actual use of a product during marketing.
•
Post-approval trials, sometimes referred to as Phase 4 clinical trials, are conducted after initial marketing approval. These trials are used to gain additional experience from the treatment of patients in the intended therapeutic indication. In certain instances, the FDA may mandate the performance of Phase 4 clinical trials as a condition of approval of an NDA.
•
Progress reports detailing the results of the clinical trials, among other information, must be submitted to the FDA at least annually. Sponsor is also responsible for submitting written IND safety reports, including reports of serious and unexpected suspected adverse events, findings from other studies suggesting a significant risk to humans exposed to the drug, findings from animal or in vitro testing that suggest a significant risk for human subjects and any clinically significant increase in the rate of a serious suspected adverse reaction over that listed in the protocol or investigator brochure.
•
Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3 clinical trials may not be completed successfully within any specified period, if at all. The FDA or the sponsor may suspend or terminate a clinical trial at any time on various grounds, including a finding that the research subjects or patients are being exposed to an unacceptable health risk. Similarly, an IRB can suspend or terminate approval of a clinical trial at its institution if the clinical trial is not being conducted in accordance with the IRB’s requirements or if the drug has been associated with unexpected serious harm to patients. Additionally, some clinical trials are overseen by an independent group of qualified experts organized by the clinical trial sponsor, known as a data safety monitoring board or committee. This group provides authorization for whether a trial may move forward at designated check-points based on access to certain data from the trial.
•
Concurrent with clinical trials, companies usually complete additional animal safety studies and also must develop additional information about the chemistry and physical characteristics of the drug as well as finalize a process for manufacturing the product in commercial quantities in accordance with cGMP requirements. The manufacturing process, as performed by the manufacturing facility, must be capable of consistently producing quality batches of our product candidates. Additionally, appropriate packaging must be selected and tested, and stability studies must be conducted to demonstrate that our product candidates do not undergo unacceptable deterioration over their labeled shelf life.
NDA review process
Following completion of the clinical trials, data is analyzed to assess whether the investigational product is safe and effective for the proposed indicated use or uses. The results of preclinical studies and clinical trials are then submitted to the FDA as part of an
31
NDA, along with proposed labeling, chemistry and manufacturing information to ensure product quality and other relevant data. In short, the NDA is a request for approval to market the drug in the United States for one or more specified indications and must contain proof of safety and efficacy for a drug.
The application must include both negative and ambiguous results of preclinical studies and clinical trials, as well as positive findings. Data may come from company-sponsored clinical trials intended to test the safety and efficacy of a product’s use or from a number of alternative sources, including studies initiated by investigators. To support marketing approval, the data submitted must be sufficient in quality and quantity to establish the safety and efficacy of the investigational product to the satisfaction of the FDA. FDA approval of an NDA must be obtained before a drug may be legally marketed in the United States.
Under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act of 1992, as amended (PDUFA), each NDA must be accompanied by a user fee. FDA adjusts the PDUFA user fees on an annual basis. PDUFA also imposes an annual program fee for each marketed human drug. Fee waivers or reductions are available in certain circumstances, including a waiver of the application fee for the first application filed by a small business. Additionally, no user fees are assessed on NDAs for products designated as orphan drugs, unless the product also includes a non-orphan indication. In November 2023, the FDA issued a guidance on Real-Time Oncology Review, which allows applicants to provide the FDA with earlier access to critical efficacy and safety data, which can help streamline the review process and to potentially enable earlier FDA feedback to the applicant, including earlier feedback on data quality and potential review issues.
The FDA reviews all submitted NDAs before it accepts them for filing, and may request additional information rather than accepting the NDA for filing. The FDA must make a decision on accepting an NDA for filing within 60 days of receipt. Once the submission is accepted for filing, the FDA begins an in-depth review of the NDA. Under the goals and policies agreed to by the FDA under PDUFA, the FDA has 10 months from the filing date of a new molecular-entity NDA, and six months from the filing date of a new molecular-entity NDA designated for priority review, to complete its initial review and respond to the applicant. The FDA does not always meet its PDUFA goal dates for standard and priority NDAs, and the review process is often extended by FDA requests for additional information or clarification.
Before approving an NDA, the FDA will conduct a pre-approval inspection of the manufacturing facilities for the new product to determine whether they comply with cGMP requirements. The FDA will not approve the product unless it determines that the manufacturing processes and facilities are in compliance with cGMP requirements and adequate to assure consistent production of the product within required specifications. The FDA also may audit data from clinical trials to ensure compliance with GCP requirements. Additionally, the FDA may refer applications for novel drug products or drug products which present difficult questions of safety or efficacy to an advisory committee, typically a panel that includes clinicians and other experts, for review, evaluation and a recommendation as to whether the application should be approved and under what conditions, if any. The FDA is not bound by recommendations of an advisory committee, but it considers such recommendations when making decisions on approval. The FDA likely will reanalyze the clinical trial data, which could result in extensive discussions between the FDA and the applicant during the review process. After the FDA evaluates an NDA, it will issue an approval letter or a complete response letter. An approval letter authorizes commercial marketing of the drug with specific prescribing information for specific indications. A complete response letter indicates that the review cycle of the application is complete, and the application will not be approved in its present form. A complete response letter usually describes all of the specific deficiencies in the NDA identified by the FDA. The complete response letter may require additional clinical data, additional pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial(s) and/or other significant and time-consuming requirements related to clinical trials, preclinical studies and/or manufacturing. If a complete response letter is issued, the applicant may either resubmit the NDA, addressing all of the deficiencies identified in the letter, or withdraw the application. Even if such data and information are submitted, the FDA may decide that the NDA does not satisfy the criteria for approval. Data obtained from clinical trials are not always conclusive and the FDA may interpret data differently than we interpret the same data.
Orphan drugs
Under the Orphan Drug Act of 1983, as amended (ODA), the FDA may grant orphan designation to a drug or biological product intended to treat a rare disease or condition, which is generally a disease or condition that affects fewer than 200,000 individuals in the United States, or more than 200,000 individuals in the United States and for which there is no reasonable expectation that the cost of developing and making the product available in the United States for this type of disease or condition will be recovered from sales of the product.
Orphan drug designation must be requested before submitting an NDA. After the FDA grants orphan drug designation, it discloses the identity of the therapeutic agent and its potential orphan use. Orphan drug designation does not convey any advantage in or shorten the duration of the regulatory review and approval process.
If a product that has orphan designation subsequently receives the first FDA approval for the disease or condition for which it has such designation, the product is entitled to orphan drug exclusivity, which means that the FDA may not approve any other
32
applications to market the same drug for the same indication for seven years from the date of such approval, except in limited circumstances, such as a showing of clinical superiority to the product with orphan exclusivity by means of greater effectiveness, greater safety or providing a major contribution to patient care or in instances of drug supply issues. However, competitors may receive approval of either a different product for the same indication or the same product for a different indication, the latter of which could be used off-label in the orphan indication. Orphan drug exclusivity also could block the approval of one of our products for seven years if a competitor obtains approval before we do for the same product, as defined by the FDA, for the same indication we are seeking approval, or if a product candidate is determined to be contained within the scope of the competitor’s product for the same indication. In response to the court decision in Catalyst Pharms., Inc. v. Becerra, 14 F.4th 1299 (11th Cir. 2021), in January 2023, the FDA published a notice in the Federal Register to clarify that while the agency complies with the court’s order in Catalyst, the FDA intends to continue to apply its longstanding interpretation of the regulations to matters outside of the scope of the Catalyst order – that is, the agency will continue tying the scope of orphan-drug exclusivity to the uses or indications for which a drug is approved, which permits other sponsors to obtain approval of a drug for new uses or indications within the same orphan designated disease or condition that have not yet been approved. It is unclear how future litigation, legislation, agency decisions, and administrative actions will impact the scope of the orphan drug exclusivity. If one of our products designated as an orphan drug receives marketing approval for an indication broader than that which is designated, it may not be entitled to orphan drug exclusivity. Orphan drug status in the European Union (EU) has similar, but not identical, requirements and benefits.
Expedited development and review programs
The FDA has a fast-track program that is intended to expedite or facilitate the process of reviewing new drugs that meet certain criteria. Specifically, new drugs are eligible for fast-track designation if they are intended to treat a serious or life-threatening condition and preclinical or clinical data demonstrate the potential to address unmet medical needs for the condition. Fast-track designation applies to both the product and the specific indication for which it is being studied. The sponsor can request the FDA to designate the product for fast-track status any time before receiving NDA approval, but ideally no later than the pre-NDA meeting with the FDA.
Any product submitted to the FDA for marketing, including under a fast-track program, may be eligible for other types of FDA programs intended to expedite development and review, such as priority review and accelerated approval. Any product is eligible for priority review if it treats a serious or life-threatening condition and, if approved, would provide a significant improvement in safety and effectiveness compared to available therapies.
A product may also be eligible for accelerated approval if it treats a serious or life-threatening condition and generally provides a meaningful advantage over available therapies. In addition, such product must demonstrate an effect on a surrogate endpoint that is reasonably likely to predict clinical benefit or on a clinical endpoint that can be measured earlier than irreversible morbidity or mortality (IMM), which endpoint is reasonably likely to predict an effect on IMM or other clinical benefit. As a condition of approval, the FDA may require that a sponsor of a drug receiving accelerated approval perform adequate and well-controlled post-marketing clinical trials. FDA may withdraw drug approval or require changes to the labeled indication of the drug if confirmatory post-market trials fail to verify clinical benefit or do not demonstrate sufficient clinical benefit to justify the risks associated with the drug. If the FDA concludes that a drug shown to be effective can be safely used only if distribution or use is restricted, it may require such post-marketing restrictions as it deems necessary to assure safe use of the product. The Food and Drug Omnibus Reform Act made several changes to the FDA’s authorities and its regulatory framework, including, among other changes, reforms to the accelerated approval pathway, such as requiring the FDA to specify conditions for post-approval study requirements and setting forth procedures for the FDA to withdraw a product on an expedited basis for non-compliance with post-approval requirements.
Additionally, a drug may be eligible for designation as a breakthrough therapy if (a) the product is intended, alone or in combination with one or more other drugs or biologics, to treat a serious or life-threatening condition and (b) preliminary clinical evidence indicates that the product may demonstrate substantial improvement over currently approved therapies on one or more clinically significant endpoints. The benefits of breakthrough therapy designation include the same benefits as fast-track designation, plus intensive guidance from the FDA to ensure an efficient drug development program. Fast-track designation, priority review, accelerated approval and breakthrough therapy designation do not change the standards for approval, but may expedite the development or approval process.
33
Post-approval requirements
Following approval of a new product, the manufacturer and the approved product are subject to continuing regulation by the FDA, including, among other things, monitoring and record-keeping requirements, requirements to report adverse events and comply with promotion and advertising requirements, which include restrictions on promoting drugs for unapproved uses or patient populations, known as “off-label promotion,” and limitations on industry-sponsored scientific and educational activities. Although physicians may prescribe legally available drugs for off-label uses, manufacturers may not market or promote such uses. Prescription drug promotional materials must be submitted to the FDA in conjunction with their first use. Further, if there are any modifications to the drug, including changes in indications, labeling or manufacturing processes or facilities, the applicant may be required to submit and obtain FDA approval of a new NDA or NDA supplement, which may require the development of additional data or preclinical studies and clinical trials.
The FDA may also place other conditions on approvals, including the requirement for a REMS, to assure the safe use of the product. A REMS could include medication guides, physician communication plans or elements to assure safe use, such as restricted distribution methods, patient registries and other risk minimization tools. Any of these limitations on approval or marketing could restrict the commercial promotion, distribution, prescription or dispensing of products. Product approvals may be withdrawn for non-compliance with regulatory standards or if problems occur following initial marketing. Further, according to draft guidance issued by the FDA in August 2023, if the FDA finds that the clinical data used to support approval do not sufficiently represent the diversity of the real-world patient population, the FDA may require additional data on underrepresented populations post-approval, including as a post-marketing requirement, or the FDA may enter into a written agreement with the applicant to collect additional data as a post-marketing commitment.
The FDA may withdraw approval if compliance with regulatory requirements and standards is not maintained or if problems occur after the product reaches the market. Later discovery of previously unknown problems with a product, including adverse events of unanticipated severity or frequency, or with manufacturing processes, or failure to comply with regulatory requirements, may result in revisions to the approved labeling to add new safety information, imposition of post-market studies or clinical studies to assess new safety risks or imposition of distribution restrictions or other restrictions under a REMS program. Other potential consequences include, among other things:
•
restrictions on the marketing or manufacturing of the product, complete withdrawal of the product from the market, or product recalls;
•
fines, warning letters, or holds on post-approval clinical studies;
•
refusal of the FDA to approve pending applications or supplements to approved applications;
•
suspension or revocation of product approvals;
•
product seizure or detention;
•
refusal to permit the import or export of products; or
•
injunctions or the imposition of civil or criminal penalties.
The FDA strictly regulates marketing, labeling, advertising and promotion of products that are placed on the market. Drugs may be promoted only for the approved indications and in accordance with the provisions of the approved label. The FDA and other agencies actively enforce the laws and regulations prohibiting the promotion of off-label uses, and a company that is found to have improperly promoted off-label uses may be subject to significant liability.
FDA regulation of companion diagnostics
A therapeutic product may rely upon an in vitro companion diagnostic for use in selecting the patients that will be more likely to respond to that therapy. If an in vitro diagnostic is essential to the safe and effective use of the therapeutic product and if the manufacturer wishes to market or distribute such diagnostic for use as a companion diagnostic, then the FDA will require separate approval or clearance of the diagnostic as a companion diagnostic to the therapeutic product. According to FDA guidance, an unapproved or uncleared companion diagnostic device used to make treatment decisions in clinical trials of a drug generally will be considered an investigational medical device unless it is employed for an intended use for which the device is already approved or cleared. If used to make critical treatment decisions, such as patient selection, the diagnostic device generally will be considered a significant risk device under the FDA’s Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) regulations. The sponsor of the diagnostic device will be required to comply with the IDE regulations for clinical studies involving the investigational diagnostic device. According to the guidance, if a diagnostic device and a drug are to be studied together to support their respective approvals, both products can be studied in the same clinical trial, if the trial meets both the requirements of the IDE regulations and the IND regulations. The guidance
34
provides that depending on the details of the clinical trial protocol, the investigational product(s), and subjects involved, a sponsor may seek to submit an IDE alone (e.g., if the drug has already been approved by FDA and is used consistent with its approved labeling), or both an IND and an IDE.
Pursuing FDA approval/clearance of an in vitro companion diagnostic would require either a pre-market notification, also called 510(k) clearance, or a pre-market approval (PMA) or a de novo classification for that diagnostic. The review of companion diagnostics involves coordination of review with the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health. In June 2023, the FDA issued guidance on a voluntary pilot program on oncology drug products used with certain in vitro diagnostic tests, which is intended to provide greater transparency regarding the minimum performance characteristics necessary for certain oncology diagnostic tests. In October 2023, the FDA published a proposed rule that proposes to phase out its enforcement discretion for most laboratory-developed tests (LDTs) and to amend the FDA’s regulations to make explicit that in vitro diagnostics are medical devices under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, including when the manufacturer of the diagnostic product is a laboratory. These proposed changes and other regulatory changes pertaining to diagnostic products can increase the cost and time needed to develop new diagnostic tests and to bring them to the market.
510(k) clearance process
To obtain 510(k) clearance, a pre-market notification is submitted to the FDA demonstrating that the proposed device is substantially equivalent to a previously cleared 510(k) device or a device that was in commercial distribution before May 28, 1976 for which the FDA has not yet required the submission of a PMA application. The FDA’s 510(k) clearance process may take three to 12 months from the date the application is submitted and filed with the FDA, but may take longer if FDA requests additional information, among other reasons. In some cases, the FDA may require clinical data to support substantial equivalence. In reviewing a pre-market notification submission, the FDA may request additional information, which may significantly prolong the review process. Notwithstanding compliance with all these requirements, clearance is never assured.
After a device receives 510(k) clearance, any subsequent modification of the device that could significantly affect its safety or effectiveness, or that would constitute a major change in its intended use, will require a new 510(k) clearance or require a PMA. In addition, the FDA may make substantial changes to industry requirements, including which devices are eligible for 510(k) clearance, which may significantly affect the process.
De novo classification process
If a new medical device does not qualify for the 510(k) pre-market notification process because no predicate device to which it is substantially equivalent can be identified, the device is automatically classified into Class III. The Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act of 1997 established a different route to market for low to moderate risk medical devices that are automatically placed into Class III due to the absence of a predicate device, called the “Request for Evaluation of Automatic Class III Designation,” or the de novo classification process. This process allows a manufacturer whose novel device is automatically classified into Class III to request down-classification of its medical device into Class I or Class II on the basis that the device presents low or moderate risk, rather than requiring the submission and approval of a PMA. If the manufacturer seeks reclassification into Class II, the manufacturer must include a draft proposal for special controls that are necessary to provide a reasonable assurance of the safety and effectiveness of the medical device. The FDA may reject the reclassification petition if it identifies a legally marketed predicate device that would be appropriate for a 510(k) or determines that the device is not low to moderate risk and requires PMA or that general controls would be inadequate to control the risks and special controls cannot be developed.
Obtaining FDA marketing authorization, de novo down-classification, or approval for medical devices is expensive and uncertain, and may take several years, and generally requires significant scientific and clinical data.
PMA process
The PMA process, including the gathering of clinical and nonclinical data and the submission to and review by the FDA, can take several years or longer. The applicant must prepare and provide the FDA with reasonable assurance of the device’s safety and effectiveness, including information about the device and its components regarding, among other things, device design, manufacturing, and labeling. PMA applications are subject to an application fee. In addition, PMAs for medical devices must generally include the results from extensive preclinical and adequate and well-controlled clinical trials to establish the safety and effectiveness of the device for each indication for which FDA approval is sought. In particular, for a diagnostic, the applicant must demonstrate that the diagnostic produces reproducible results. As part of the PMA review, the FDA will typically inspect the manufacturer’s facilities for compliance with the Quality System Regulation (QSR) which imposes extensive testing, control, documentation, and other quality assurance and GMP requirements.
35
Other U.S. regulatory matters
Our current and future arrangements with healthcare providers, third-party payors, customers, and others may expose us to broadly applicable fraud and abuse and other healthcare laws and regulations, which may constrain the business or financial arrangements and relationships through which we research, as well as, sell, market, and distribute any products for which we obtain marketing approval. The applicable federal, state and foreign healthcare laws and regulations that may affect our ability to operate include, but are not limited to:
•
the federal Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS), which makes it illegal for any person, including a prescription drug or medical device manufacturer (or a party acting on its behalf), to knowingly and willfully solicit, receive, offer or pay any remuneration that is intended to induce or reward referrals, including the purchase, recommendation, order or prescription of a particular drug, for which payment may be made under a federal healthcare program, such as Medicare or Medicaid. Moreover, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (collectively, ACA), provides that the government may assert that a claim including items or services resulting from a violation of the federal AKS constitutes a false or fraudulent claim for purposes of the civil False Claims Act of 1863 (FCA);
•
the federal false claims, including the civil FCA that can be enforced by private citizens through civil whistleblower or qui tam actions, and civil monetary penalties prohibit individuals or entities from, among other things, knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, to the federal government, claims for payment that are false or fraudulent or making a false statement to avoid, decrease or conceal an obligation to pay money to the federal government, and/or impose exclusions from federal health care programs and/or penalties for parties who engage in such prohibited conduct;
•
the Federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), prohibits, among other things, executing or attempting to execute a scheme to defraud any healthcare benefit program or making false statements relating to healthcare matters;
•
HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009, and their implementing regulations also impose obligations on covered entities such as health insurance plans, healthcare clearinghouses, and certain health care providers and their respective business associates and their covered subcontractors, including mandatory contractual terms, with respect to safeguarding the privacy, security and transmission of individually identifiable health information;
•
the federal Physician Payments Sunshine Act requires applicable manufacturers of covered drugs, devices, biologics and medical supplies for which payment is available under Medicare, Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program, with specific exceptions, to annually report to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) information regarding certain payments and other transfers of value to physicians (defined to include doctors, dentists, optometrists, podiatrists and chiropractors), certain non-physician healthcare professionals (such as physician assistants and nurse practitioners, among others), and teaching hospitals as well as information regarding ownership and investment interests held by physicians and their immediate family members; and
•
analogous state and foreign laws and regulations, such as state anti-kickback and false claims laws which may apply to sales or marketing arrangements and claims involving healthcare items or services reimbursed by non-governmental third-party payors, including private insurers, state laws that require biotechnology companies to comply with the biotechnology industry’s voluntary compliance guidelines and the relevant compliance guidance promulgated by the federal government; state and local laws that require drug manufacturers to report information related to payments and other transfers of value to physicians and other healthcare providers or marketing expenditures and require the registration of their sales representatives, state laws that require biotechnology companies to report information on the pricing of certain drug products, and state and foreign laws that govern the privacy and security of health information in some circumstances (such as Washington's My Health, My Data Act, which, among other things, provides for a private right of action), many of which differ from each other in significant ways and often are not preempted by HIPAA, thus complicating compliance efforts.
Pricing and rebate programs must also comply with the Medicaid rebate requirements of the U.S. Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990 and more recent requirements in the ACA. If products are made available to authorized users of the Federal Supply Schedule of the General Services Administration, additional laws and requirements apply. Manufacturing, sales, promotion and other activities also are potentially subject to federal and state consumer protection and unfair competition laws. In addition, the distribution of pharmaceutical and/or medical device products is subject to additional requirements and regulations, including extensive record-keeping, licensing, storage and security requirements intended to prevent the unauthorized sale of pharmaceutical and/or medical device products. Products must meet applicable child-resistant packaging requirements under the U.S. Poison Prevention Packaging Act of 1970 as well as other applicable consumer safety requirements.
36
The failure to comply with any of these laws or regulatory requirements subjects firms to possible legal or regulatory action. Depending on the circumstances, failure to meet applicable regulatory requirements can result in significant civil, criminal and administrative penalties, including damages, fines, disgorgement, imprisonment, exclusion from participation in government funded healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, integrity oversight and reporting obligations, contractual damages, reputational harm, diminished profits and future earnings, injunctions, requests for recall, seizure of products, total or partial suspension of production, denial or withdrawal of product approvals or refusal to allow a firm to enter into supply contracts, including government contracts.
U.S. patent-term restoration and marketing exclusivity
Depending upon the timing, duration and specifics of FDA approval of any future product candidates, some of our U.S. patents may be eligible for limited patent term extension under the Hatch-Waxman Act. The Hatch-Waxman Act permits restoration of the patent term of up to five years as compensation for patent term lost during product development and FDA regulatory review process. Patent-term restoration, however, cannot extend the remaining term of a patent beyond a total of 14 years from the product’s approval date. The patent-term restoration period is generally one-half the time between the effective date of an IND or the issue date of the patent, whichever is later, and the submission date of an NDA plus the time between the submission date of an NDA or the issue date of the patent, whichever is later, and the approval of that application, except that the review period is reduced by any time during which the applicant failed to exercise due diligence. Only one patent applicable to an approved drug is eligible for the extension and the application for the extension must be submitted prior to the expiration of the patent. The USPTO, in consultation with the FDA, reviews and approves the application for any patent term extension or restoration. In the future, we may apply for restoration of patent term for our currently owned or licensed patents to add patent life beyond its current expiration date, depending on the expected length of the clinical trials and other factors involved in the filing of the relevant NDA.
Market exclusivity provisions under the FDCA also can delay the submission or the approval of certain applications. The FDCA provides a five-year period of non-patent marketing exclusivity within the United States to the first applicant to gain approval of an NDA for a new chemical entity. A drug is a new chemical entity if the FDA has not previously approved any other new drug containing the same active moiety, which is the molecule or ion responsible for the action of the drug substance. During the exclusivity period, the FDA may not accept for review an abbreviated new drug application (ANDA), or a 505(b)(2) NDA submitted by another company for a generic version of such drug where the applicant does not own or have a legal right of reference to all the data required for approval. However, an application may be submitted after four years if it contains a certification of patent invalidity or non-infringement with respect to one or more patents listed for the drug in the FDA’s Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations publication. The FDCA also provides three years of marketing exclusivity for a NDA, 505(b)(2) NDA or supplement to an existing NDA if new clinical investigations, other than bioavailability studies, that were conducted or sponsored by the applicant are deemed by the FDA to be essential to the approval of the application, for example, new indications, dosages or strengths of an existing drug. This three-year exclusivity covers only the conditions of use associated with the new clinical investigations and does not prohibit the FDA from approving ANDAs for drugs containing the original active agent. Five-year and three-year exclusivity will not delay the submission or approval of a full NDA. However, an applicant submitting a full NDA would be required to conduct or obtain a right of reference to all of the preclinical studies and adequate and well-controlled clinical trials necessary to demonstrate safety and effectiveness or generate such data themselves.
European Union and UK drug development
In addition to regulations in the United States, we must obtain the requisite approvals from regulatory authorities in foreign countries prior to the commencement of clinical studies or marketing of the product in those countries. Certain countries outside the U.S. have a similar process that requires the submission of a clinical study application much like the IND prior to the commencement of human clinical studies. The approval process varies from country to country and the time may be longer or shorter than that required to obtain FDA approval. The requirements governing the conduct of clinical trials, product licensing, pricing and reimbursement vary greatly from country to country and may require us to perform additional pre-clinical or clinical testing.
European Union drug review and approval
Pharmaceutical products in the EU are subject to regulation under comprehensive legislation enacted by the European Commission in the European Medicinal Products Directive (Directive 2001/83/EC), as amended. Centrally authorized products are also regulated by Regulation (EC) No. 726/2004. This legislation is binding on all Member States together with ancillary legislation governing research. In the UK, the main legislative texts relating to human medicines is the Medicines Act 1968 and the Human Medicines Regulation 2012.
The EU system for authorization of medicinal products for human use offers several routes: the centralized procedure, the decentralized procedure, and the mutual recognition procedure, as well as domestic national routes. The centralized procedure
37
provides for the grant of a single marketing authorization that is valid for all 27 EU Member States as well as the European Economic Area (EEA) countries of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. The centralized procedure is mandatory for certain categories of investigational products, including human products containing a new active substance indicated for the treatment of certain diseases, including cancer, AIDS, diabetes and neurodegenerative illness; orphan medicinal products; and medicinal products manufactured using biotechnological processes. Applications for marketing authorization for such medicines must be submitted to the EMA, in which the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) is generally responsible for conducting the initial assessment of a product.
The decentralized and mutual recognition procedures are applicable to the majority of conventional medicinal products and are both based on the principle of recognition of a marketing authorization by one or more Member States. The decentralized procedure is available for applicants who wish to market a product in various EU Member States where such product has not received marketing approval in any EU Member State before. In this procedure, an application for marketing authorization is submitted simultaneously in several Member States, one of them being chosen as the “Reference Member State.” At the end of the procedure, national marketing authorizations are granted in the Reference and in the concerned Member States. The mutual recognition procedure is compulsory when a medicinal product has already received a marketing authorization in one Member State and is to be marketed in a Member State other than that in which it was first authorized. Any national marketing authorization granted by an EU Member State's national authority can be used to support an application for its mutual recognition by other Member States. Marketing authorization applications can also be submitted directly to the Member State's national competent authority under the national route (if the centralized route is not compulsory).