Merck Healthcare today announced a licensing agreement with Inspirna, Inc. for ompenaclid (RGX-202), a first-in-class oral inhibitor of the creatine transport channel SLC6A8, and SLC6A8-targeting follow-on compounds.
Ompenaclid is currently being evaluated in a Phase II study for the second-line treatment of RAS-mutated (RASmut) advanced or metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).
“Over the past decade, the treatment paradigm for patients with RAS-mutated CRC, accounting for approximately 45% of the second-line population, has not seen major innovation,” said Victoria Zazulina, MD, Head, Development Unit, Oncology for the Healthcare business sector of Merck. “With our expertise in the treatment of CRC, and based on the encouraging early data for ompenaclid, this agreement with Inspirna offers the opportunity to advance a potential new first-in-class therapy that may improve outcomes for patients.”
“We are excited to partner with Merck, a leader in the oncology field with global drug development and commercial expertise in colorectal cancer specifically, to help bring our novel therapies to more patients in need,” said Usman “Oz” Azam, MD, CEO of Inspirna. “The data to date validates our belief in ompenaclid as a potential first-in-class therapy for advanced colorectal cancer and underscores the power of our proprietary target discovery platform RNA-DRIVEr™. We look forward to working closely with Merck as we continue to evaluate ompenaclid in the ongoing Phase II randomized controlled trial.”
👉 Agreement with Inspirna for Ompenaclid | Merck (merckgroup.com)
