Exscientia has backed the CDK7 candidate as the company “believes GTAEXS617 has the potential to overcome significant safety and efficacy limitations of existing approved treatments”. Image Credit: Explode / Shutterstock.

Exscientia has taken full ownership of an oral cyclin-dependent kinase 7 (CDK7) inhibitor after buying out its development partner GT Apeiron Therapeutics’ shares of the programme.

The UK-based company paid $20m upfront, half in cash and the rest in equity. Following the transaction, Exscientia will bear all existing development costs for the drug but will pay sales royalties to GT Apeiron.

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The CDK7 candidate GTAEXS617 is being investigated in a Phase I/II dose escalation ELUCIDATE trial (NCT05985655). The therapy is being evaluated as both, a monotherapy and in combination with standard of care therapies, in patients with advanced or metastatic solid tumours. Exscientia expects a trial readout in H2 this year.

Following the trial readout, the company plans to investigate GTAEXS617 as a combination therapy in recurrent or advanced hormone receptor (HR)-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative breast cancer patients.

Exscientia has supported the CDK7 candidate as the company “believes GTAEXS617 has the potential to overcome significant safety and efficacy limitations of existing approved treatments”. Additionally, the company says the therapy can overcome common resistance pathways associated with CDK4/6 inhibitors such as Pfizer’s Ibrance (palbocilib), and Novartis and Astex’s Kisqali (ribociclib).

There are no approved CDK7 inhibitors, and most are in early development. Another company developing a CDK7 inhibitor therapy is Carrick Therapeutics. The company is studying the drug samuraciclib (CT7001) as a combination therapy for breast cancer. A Phase II trial (NCT05963997) is investigating samuraciclib in combination with Menarini Group’s oral selective oestrogen receptor degrader, Orserdu (elacestrant), in HR+/HER2- metastatic breast cancer patients.

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Carrick is also investigating samuraciclib and Arvinas and Pfizer’s vepdegestrant, an investigational oral PROteolysis Targeting Chimera (PROTAC) oestrogen receptor protein degrader. The Phase I/II trial (NCT06125522) is evaluating the therapy in oestrogen receptor-positive (ER+) /HER2- advanced or metastatic breast cancer.