Abstract 5322: Discovery of CRD1601, a potent and selective HPK1 inhibitor with robust in vivo anti-cancer activity

• Published in: Cancer research (Chicago, Ill.) Vol. 84; no. 6_Supplement; p. 5322
• Main Authors: Banerjee, Monali, Shrivastava, Ritesh, Pryde, David, Middya, Sandip, Debnath, Sabyasachi, Middya, Anindita, Yadav, Dharmendra, Rawat, Nidhi, Ghosh, Rajib, Padaliya, Manisha, Basu, Sourav, Surya, Arjun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 22-03-2024
• ISSN: 1538-7445; 1538-7445
• DOI: 10.1158/1538-7445.AM2024-5322

Background: Haematopoietic Progenitor Kinase (HPK-1, MAP4K1) is a member of the STE20 family of serine/threonine kinases, expressed predominantly in hematopoietic cells. HPK-1 functions as a negative regulator of T-cell and B-cell receptor activation by triggering proteasomal degradation and disrupting signalosome complexes downstream of TCR and BCR. HPK1 inhibition is a novel IO strategy that could combine with existing chemotherapies and immunotherapies.
Methods: Curadev used a pharmacophore based approach to discover novel small molecule HPK-1 inhibitors using in vitro enzymatic and phenotypic cellular screens using primary cells. CRD1601, the clinical candidate was selected based on its ability to enhance human T-cell proliferation through the induction of IL2 and IFNγ. Syngeneic tumor models were used to assess anti-tumor activity of selected compounds as a monotherapy or combination therapy.
Results: CRD1601 is a potent HPK1 inhibitor with a single digit nanomolar IC50 value in enzymatic assay and potent cellular activity in the SLP76 assay. A single dose of CRD1601 in mice treated with an anti-CD3 antibody caused systemic enhancement of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL2, IFN gamma and reduced pSLP76 levels in the spleen. Further, CRD1601 reversed the immunosuppressive effect of PGE2 and NECA. CRD1601 demonstrated significant single agent activity in murine tumor models while also synergizing with chemotherapy and immunotherapy.
Conclusions: Inhibition of HPK-1 is a promising therapeutic modality that could augment the effects of existing anti-cancer treatments including immunotherapy. CRD1601 is a potent and selective HPK-1 inhibitor with favorable drug like properties that has been selected from a rich portfolio of active compounds and shows promising in vivo activity in tumor models.
Citation Format: Monali Banerjee, Ritesh Shrivastava, David Pryde, Sandip Middya, Sabyasachi Debnath, Anindita Middya, Dharmendra Yadav, Nidhi Rawat, Rajib Ghosh, Manisha Padaliya, Sourav Basu, Arjun Surya. Discovery of CRD1601, a potent and selective HPK1 inhibitor with robust in vivo anti-cancer activity [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(6_Suppl):Abstract nr 5322.