Vividion Therapeutics, a subsidiary of Bayer, has commenced subject dosing in a Phase I clinical trial of its investigational oral signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) inhibitor, VVD-130850, to treat advanced solid and haematologic tumours.
The trial will assess the tolerability, safety, and preliminary anti-tumour activity of the drug.
VVD-130850 functions as an oral small molecule inhibitor, targeting STAT3 by attaching to a novel allosteric pocket. This approach results in the direct inhibition of DNA binding and the suppression of STAT3 target gene expression in cancer cells.
The trial will include patients with advanced solid and haematologic tumours and will explore VVD-130850 as a monotherapy, and along with immune checkpoint inhibitors.
Vividion CEO Aleksandra Rizo said: “The initiation and dosing of the first clinical trial with our STAT3 inhibitor programme marks a major inflection point for Vividion, as this is the second program from our platform that we have advanced into the clinic in just a few months.
“We are proud of the progress we have made in a relatively short amount of time, with a pipeline consisting of previously undruggable protein targets for prominent oncology and immunology diseases.”
Bayer's acquisition of Vividion Therapeutics in August 2021, for an upfront payment of $1.5bn, has granted the pharmaceutical company full rights to Vividion's discovery platform.
This move was part of Bayer's strategy to expand its oncology portfolio with innovative therapeutic candidates.
Bayer Research and Development head Christian Rommel said: “We are leveraging Vividion’s innovative chemoproteomics drug discovery technology to develop new therapies that are addressing high-profile cancer targets with the potential to stop or reverse the progression of disease.
“The start of the clinical development of Vividion’s STAT3 inhibitor programme takes us one step closer to a potentially meaningful new treatment for cancer patients.”
Last September, Vividion initiated a Phase I trial for another investigational drug, VVD-130037, which is an oral Kelch-like ECH Associated Protein 1 (KEAP1) activator.
