Exscientia Details Pipeline Prioritisation Strategy
October 03 2023 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
Concentrating rapidly emerging pipeline on most
differentiated, highest value oncology targets, including CDK7 and
LSD1 programmes
Partnering or discontinuing internal
development of programmes outside of core focus, including A2A and
select discovery targets
Strategy will support continued investment into
market-leading technology while maintaining cash runway well into
2026
Partnered pipeline continues to progress with
achievement of first milestone for Sanofi collaboration and new
collaboration with Merck KGaA
Exscientia plc (Nasdaq: EXAI) today provided an update on its
pipeline prioritisation strategy designed to further strengthen the
Company’s focus, investment and infrastructure on programmes of
greatest potential for differentiation and value creation.
Exscientia has built a highly efficient and versatile AI-led
drug discovery platform. To date, its platform has yielded eight
differentiated clinical development candidates across a variety of
therapeutic areas, and at a pace that is substantially faster than
current industry standards. The Company anticipates its
capabilities will continue to grow, driven by recent investments in
automation as well as other leading technological and scientific
advancements which may further accelerate pipeline growth. In this
context, the Company intends to prioritise its internal development
efforts and focus its resources on the most differentiated, highest
value oncology targets within its portfolio, such as LSD1 and CDK7.
This strategic focus is designed to allow Exscientia to maximise
its pipeline value and output while continuing to develop novel
technologies to transform drug discovery and development. In
addition, it will enhance operational and financial efficiency with
a cash runway well into 2026.
“Exscientia creates value by using technology to solve
previously unsolved discovery challenges and achieving great
data-driven operating efficiency,” said Professor Andrew Hopkins
FRS FMedSci, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Exscientia.
“Our oncology programmes like LSD1 and CDK7 focus on
well-understood development challenges where our platform can have
a clear impact that, if successful, would lead to significant
therapeutic benefit. Beyond a focused number of high-value internal
programmes in areas where we have deep expertise and strong
differentiation, we believe the best way Exscientia can create an
abundance of novel medicines for patients is by pairing our
platform with strong partners in existing and future
collaborations.”
Prioritising CDK7 and LSD1 advancement:
- GTAEXS617 (CDK7):
- ‘617 is a potential best-in-class, reversible, candidate
designed for improved potency, selectivity and pharmacokinetics
compared to other molecules in development
- Patient enrolment continues in the ELUCIDATE Phase 1/2 adaptive
trial in patients with advanced solid tumours including head &
neck cancer, HR+/HER2- breast cancer, non-small cell lung cancer,
pancreatic cancer, ovarian cancer and colorectal cancer
- The model-driven adaptive trial is studying ‘617 as monotherapy
and in combination with standard of care, where Exscientia's
precision medicine platform is expected to play a critical role in
determining the best combinations
- EXS74539 (LSD1):
- The Company will further prioritise the advancement of its LSD1
inhibitor into the clinic
- IND submission expected in the first quarter of 2024
- ‘539 is highly differentiated in predicted human
pharmacokinetics, pre-clinical safety and flexibility of dosing.
Based on the unique combination of reversible mechanism of action
and CNS penetration it has the potential to be first and
best-in-class for small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and acute myeloid
leukaemia (AML)
- The Company intends to initiate a Phase 1 healthy volunteer
trial in the first half of 2024 that could support more efficient
development of ‘539 in multiple indications and in combination with
other therapies
- LSD1-related data from Exscientia's precision medicine
technology will be presented at ESMO in October, including data in
primary AML tissues
Potential programmes for partnering or out-licensing
- EXS21546 (A2A):
- In addition to a validated patient selection strategy, the
Company believes a prolonged, high level of target coverage is
necessary for therapeutic effect, which has been supported by
recently announced peer data. Based on modelling of the clinical
and preclinical data, it will be challenging for ‘546 to reach a
suitable therapeutic index
- The Phase 1/2 trial will be wound down and internal research
around the target will be discontinued
- Exscientia believes in the A2A mechanism and its value for a
potential partner with an existing immunotherapy pipeline.
Exscientia will evaluate potential partnerships for its
next-generation compounds and precision medicine capabilities
Additional ongoing clinical, IND-enabling and discovery
programmes
- EXS73565 (MALT1):
- Exscientia’s MALT1 inhibitor is progressing through IND/CTA
enabling studies and the Company expects to be able to provide
further updates in the first half of 2024. Exscientia believes that
'565 is highly differentiated due to reduced UGT1A1 inhibition
combined with potency and selectivity
- Data will be presented at ESMO in late October highlighting
'565's precision design and its potential for low drug-drug
interaction
- Discovery programmes:
- The Company will continue to identify targets and design novel
compounds internally and for partners, where there is strong
differentiation. Exscientia intends to advance a small number of
new candidates for internal clinical development that demonstrate
clear differentiation and market need while also utilising
Exscientia’s existing infrastructure. A majority of the future
pipeline will be advanced through high-value partnerships or
outlicensing
- New collaboration with Merck KGaA initiated, with 3
programmes
- First milestone achieved in the Sanofi collaboration
- Other clinical programmes:
- EXS4318 (PKC-theta), DSP-0038 (5-HT1A agonist/5-HT2A
antagonist) and DSP-2342 (dual 5-HT2A/5-HT7 antagonist) all are
continuing in Phase 1 studies by partners Bristol Myers Squibb and
Sumitomo Pharma
The Company ended the second quarter of 2023 with $508.6 million
of cash, equivalents and short-term deposits. With today’s
announcement, the Company expects to remain well capitalised
through the potential achievement of multiple clinical and
partnership milestones.
About Exscientia
Exscientia is an AI-driven precision medicine company committed
to discovering, designing and developing the best possible drugs in
the fastest and most effective manner. Exscientia developed the
first-ever functional precision oncology platform to successfully
guide treatment selection and improve patient outcomes in a
prospective interventional clinical study, as well as to progress
AI-designed small molecules into the clinical setting. Our internal
pipeline is focused on leveraging our precision medicine platform
in oncology, while our partnered pipeline broadens our approach to
other therapeutic areas. By pioneering a new approach to medicine
creation, we believe the best ideas of science can rapidly become
the best medicines for patients.
For more information visit us on https://www.exscientia.ai or
follow us on Twitter @exscientiaAI.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements as that
term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995, including with respect to the initiation, timing and progress
of, and data collected during and reported from, the Company's
clinical trials, as well as expectations with respect to the
outcome or benefit of such trial, expectations regarding the growth
of the Company’s capabilities and the performance of its technology
platform and the Company’s belief that its existing cash and cash
equivalents will be sufficient to fund its operations into 2026.
Any statement describing Exscientia’s goals, plans, expectations,
intentions or beliefs is a forward-looking statement and should be
considered an at-risk statement. Such statements are subject to a
number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including those
related to: the initiation, scope and progress of Exscientia’s and
its partners’ planned and ongoing pre-clinical studies and clinical
trials and ramifications for the cost thereof; clinical,
scientific, regulatory and technical developments; the process of
discovering, developing and commercialising product candidates that
are safe and effective for use as human therapeutics; and the
endeavour of building a business around such product candidates. In
light of these risks and uncertainties, and other risks and
uncertainties that are described in the Risk Factors section and
other sections of Exscientia’s Annual Report on Form 20-F, filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 23, 2022
(File No. 001-40850), and other filings that Exscientia makes with
the SEC from time to time (which are available at
https://www.sec.gov/), the events and circumstances discussed in
such forward-looking statements may not occur, and Exscientia’s
actual results could differ materially and adversely from those
anticipated or implied thereby. Although Exscientia’s
forward-looking statements reflect the good faith judgement of its
management, these statements are based only on facts and factors
currently known by the Company. As a result, you are cautioned not
to rely on these forward-looking statements.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231003722128/en/
Investor Relations: Sara Sherman
investors@exscientia.ai
Media: Oliver Stohlmann media@exscientia.ai
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