AI Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that has created an artificial intelligence-driven drug development platform for matching drugs to new indications. The company has made significant recent progress with its four clinical assets and proprietary Guardian Angel™ algorithm.
LAM-002 is a first-in-class, PIKfyve kinase inhibitor that activates transcription factor EB (TFEB), the master regulator of lysosomal biogenesis [1]. TFEB activation clears toxic aggregates that drive neurodegenerative disorders [2-4]. Dr. Murat Gunel, Nixdorff-German Professor of Neurosurgery and Professor of Genetics and of Neuroscience at Yale University and a member of AI Therapeutics' Scientific Advisory Board indicated, "A wealth of new data points to the accumulation of toxic proteins as a common mechanism in neurodegenerative conditions disorders including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease. We look forward to bringing the most advanced PIKfyve inhibitor into clinical development for patients suffering from ALS. We are pleased that our Guardian AngelTM platform made the connection of LAM-002 to ALS and that the finding was validated in our laboratories and with our collaborators, as well as in independent research published in Nature Medicine [5]."
Through its action on the lysosome, LAM-002 also selectively kills tumor cells. AI Therapeutics has recently completed enrollment in a clinical trial with patients previously treated for follicular lymphoma. Efficacy has been observed with LAM-002 as a single agent and when combined with rituximab or atezolizumab. LAM-002 appears to be well-tolerated with patients on continuous treatment for well over a year. Dr. Sarah Rutherford, Assistant Professor at Weill Cornell Medicine noted "LAM-002 represents a novel targeted approach to treat patients with follicular lymphoma. Our patients have shown durable objective responses while on LAM-002 therapy without the adverse effects often associated with other drugs."
AI Therapeutics is also pleased to announce that it had a Type C meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to discuss the registrational program for LAM-002 in patients with previously treated follicular lymphoma. At this meeting, AI Therapeutics reached concurrence on the design of a pivotal trial that could support accelerated approval. The clinical data to support full approval in patients with previously treated follicular lymphoma was also discussed and a path forward was detailed.
LAM-002 has received Fast Track status and Orphan Drug Designation from the FDA for the therapy of follicular lymphoma. The safety and clinical data for LAM-002 are expected to be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) conference in 2020.