First-in-Human Study of the Reversible BTK Inhibitor Nemtabrutinib in Patients with Relapsed/Refractory Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia and B-Cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.

Nemtabrutinib is an orally bioavailable, reversible inhibitor of Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) and C481S mutant BTK. We evaluated the safety, pharmacology, and antitumor activity of nemtabrutinib in relapsed/refractory hematologic malignancies. Forty-eight patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), or Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM), relapsed/refractory after ≥2 prior therapies were enrolled in the open-label, single-arm, phase I MK-1026-001 study (NCT03162536) to receive nemtabrutinib 5 to 75 mg once daily in 28-day cycles. Dose finding progressed using a 3 + 3 dose escalation design. Primary endpoints were safety and the recommended phase II dose (RP2D). Among 47 treated patients, 29 had CLL, 17 had NHL, and 1 had WM. Grade ≥3 treatment-emergent adverse events occurred in 37 (89%), most commonly neutropenia (11; 23.4%), febrile neutropenia (7; 14.9%), and pneumonia (7; 14.9%). The RP2D was 65 mg daily. An overall response rate of 75% was observed in patients with CLL at 65 mg daily. SIGNIFICANCE: This first-in-human phase I study demonstrates the safety and preliminary efficacy of nemtabrutinib in patients with relapsed/refractory B-cell malignancies. These data support further exploration of nemtabrutinib in larger clinical studies. This article is featured in Selected Articles from This Issue, p. 5.

The BTK Inhibitor ARQ 531 Targets Ibrutinib-Resistant CLL and Richter Transformation.

Targeted inhibition of Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) with the irreversible inhibitor ibrutinib has improved outcomes for patients with hematologic malignancies, including chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Here, we describe preclinical investigations of ARQ 531, a potent, reversible inhibitor of BTK with additional activity against Src family kinases and kinases related to ERK signaling. We hypothesized that targeting additional kinases would improve global inhibition of signaling pathways, producing more robust responses. In vitro treatment of patient CLL cells with ARQ 531 decreases BTK-mediated functions including B-cell receptor (BCR) signaling, viability, migration, CD40 and CD86 expression, and NF-κB gene transcription. In vivo, ARQ 531 was found to increase survival over ibrutinib in a murine Eµ-TCL1 engraftment model of CLL and a murine Eµ-MYC/TCL1 engraftment model resembling Richter transformation. Additionally, ARQ 531 inhibits CLL cell survival and suppresses BCR-mediated activation of C481S BTK and PLCγ2 mutants, which facilitate clinical resistance to ibrutinib.Significance: This study characterizes a rationally designed kinase inhibitor with efficacy in models recapitulating the most common mechanisms of acquired resistance to ibrutinib. Reversible BTK inhibition is a promising strategy to combat progressive CLL, and multikinase inhibition demonstrates superior efficacy to targeted ibrutinib therapy in the setting of Richter transformation. Cancer Discov; 8(10); 1300-15. ©2018 AACR. This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 1195.

Noncovalent inhibition of C481S Bruton tyrosine kinase by GDC-0853: a new treatment strategy for ibrutinib-resistant CLL.

The clinical success of ibrutinib validates Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibition as an effective strategy for treating hematologic malignancies, including chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Despite ibrutinib's ability to produce durable remissions in patients, acquired resistance can develop, mostly commonly by mutation of C481 of BTK in the ibrutinib binding site. Here, we characterize a novel BTK inhibitor, GDC-0853, to evaluate its preclinical efficacy in ibrutinib-naive and ibrutinib-resistant CLL. GDC-0853 is unique among reported BTK inhibitors in that it does not rely upon covalent reaction with C481 to stabilize its occupancy within BTK's adenosine triphosphate binding site. As with ibrutinib, GDC-0853 potently reduces B-cell receptor signaling, viability, NF-κB-dependent transcription, activation, and migration in treatment naïve CLL cells. We found that GDC-0853 also inhibits the most commonly reported ibrutinib-resistant BTK mutant (C481S) both in a biochemical enzyme activity assay and in a stably transfected 293T cell line and maintains cytotoxicity against patient CLL cells harboring C481S BTK mutations. Additionally, GDC-0853 does not inhibit endothelial growth factor receptor or ITK, 2 alternative targets of ibrutinib that are likely responsible for some adverse events and may reduce the efficacy of ibrutinib-antibody combinations, respectively. Our results using GDC-0853 indicate that noncovalent, selective BTK inhibition may be effective in CLL either as monotherapy or in combination with therapeutic antibodies, especially among the emerging population of patients with acquired resistance to ibrutinib therapy.

Probing the metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGlu5) positive allosteric modulator (PAM) binding pocket: discovery of point mutations that engender a "molecular switch" in PAM pharmacology.

Positive allosteric modulation of metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype 5 (mGlu5) is a promising novel approach for the treatment of schizophrenia and cognitive disorders. Allosteric binding sites are topographically distinct from the endogenous ligand (orthosteric) binding site, allowing for co-occupation of a single receptor with the endogenous ligand and an allosteric modulator. Negative allosteric modulators (NAMs) inhibit and positive allosteric modulators (PAMs) enhance the affinity and/or efficacy of the orthosteric agonist. The molecular determinants that govern mGlu5 modulator affinity versus cooperativity are not well understood. Focusing on the modulators based on the acetylene scaffold, we sought to determine the molecular interactions that contribute to PAM versus NAM pharmacology. Generation of a comparative model of the transmembrane-spanning region of mGlu5 served as a tool to predict and interpret the impact of mutations in this region. Application of an operational model of allosterism allowed for determination of PAM and NAM affinity estimates at receptor constructs that possessed no detectable radioligand binding as well as delineation of effects on affinity versus cooperativity. Novel mutations within the transmembrane domain (TM) regions were identified that had differential effects on acetylene PAMs versus 2-methyl-6-(phenylethynyl)-pyridine, a prototypical NAM. Three conserved amino acids (Y658, T780, and S808) and two nonconserved residues (P654 and A809) were identified as key determinants of PAM activity. Interestingly, we identified two point mutations in TMs 6 and 7 that, when mutated, engender a mode switch in the pharmacology of certain PAMs.