NGM Bio Announces Initiation of Phase 1/1b Clinical Study for the Treatment of Patients With Advanced Solid Tumors

NGM Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. recently announced it has initiated a Phase 1/1b clinical study of NGM438 for the treatment of patients with advanced solid tumors. With the initiation of this trial, all three of NGM Bio’s wholly owned myeloid checkpoint inhibition and reprogramming product candidates – NGM438, a LAIR1 antagonist antibody; NGM707, a dual ILT2/ILT4 antagonist antibody; and NGM831, an ILT3 antagonist antibody – are now in the clinic. ILT2, ILT4, ILT3 and LAIR1 are myeloid checkpoints that may play a central role in establishing an immune-suppressive state in the tumor microenvironment. NGM707, NGM831 and NGM438 are engineered to release distinct myeloid checkpoints and reprogram myeloid cells to reverse immune suppression and enhance immune response in tumors.

“We’re thrilled to now have three myeloid checkpoint inhibition programs in the clinic. NGM707, NGM831 and NGM438 are directed at distinct myeloid checkpoints, each of which is suspected of playing a central role in impeding anti-tumor immunity,” said Hsiao D. Lieu, MD, Chief Medical Officer at NGM Bio. “We look forward to the initial interim monotherapy topline data readout from the Phase 1a portion of our ongoing NGM707 Phase 1/2 trial in the second half of the year, the first of multiple anticipated data readouts from this portfolio in 2022 and 2023.”

NGM438 is an antagonist antibody product candidate engineered to inhibit LAIR1 being developed by NGM Bio for the treatment of advanced solid tumors. LAIR1 is a collagen-binding inhibitory receptor expressed on immune cells that is implicated in immune suppression. LAIR1 and collagens are upregulated in multiple cancer types and are associated with poor responses to checkpoint inhibitors. For these tumors, the formation of LAIR1-collagen complexes may act as a stromal checkpoint to suppress productive immune responses in the tumor microenvironment.

NGM Bio presented late-breaking preclinical data at the 2022 AACR Annual Meeting showing that NGM438 may inhibit LAIR1-mediated collagen-driven immune suppression alone and in combination with T cell checkpoint inhibition. Visit https://www.ngmbio.com/discovery-engine/publications/ to view this poster and all of NGM Bio’s immuno-oncology research presented at the 2022 AACR Annual Meeting.

KEYTRUDA is a registered trademark of Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ.

The Phase 1/1b open-label, multicenter, dose-escalation and dose-expansion trial is designed to determine the safety, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of NGM438 when given alone and in combination with KEYTRUDA to patients across a spectrum of advanced solid tumors, and to evaluate preliminary antitumor activity. The trial will enroll up to approximately 80 adult patients with multiple tumor types, including pancreatic cancer, breast cancer, mesothelioma, gastric cancer, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), cervical and endocervical cancer, biliary duct cancer (cholangiocarcinoma), squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN), bladder urothelial cancer, colorectal cancer (CRC), esophageal cancer, ovarian cancer, renal cell carcinoma (RCC), prostate cancer and melanoma (skin cutaneous).

The Phase 1 portion of the trial will include a monotherapy dose escalation (Part 1a) and a combination dose finding with KEYTRUDA (Part 1b). Part 1c of the trial will be a serial tumor biopsy biomarker cohort, in which patients will be enrolled to receive NGM438 monotherapy for one cycle, followed by combination treatment with KEYTRUDA after tumor biopsies have been performed.

Myeloid cells, which are abundantly present in the tumor microenvironment of many tumor types, play a critical role in the immune system, where they are largely responsible for innate defense against an array of pathogens. However, myeloid cells act independently and collaboratively with other components of the tumor stroma (the non-malignant components of a tumor) to serve as myeloid checkpoints. Like T cell checkpoints, myeloid checkpoints keep the brakes ‘on’, enabling tumors to evade the immune system and driving resistance to cancer therapies. Through the inhibition of key, distinct receptors – ILT3 (NGM831), LAIR1 (NGM438) and ILT2/ILT4 (NGM707) – NGM Bio’s approach has the potential to switch myeloid cells from their current state as ‘checkpoints’ that suppress anti-tumor immunity to a state where they may enhance anti-tumor immunity.

Abbreviations (in Alphabetical Order)
CRC=colorectal cancer; ILT2=Immunoglobin-Like Transcript 2; ILT3=Immunoglobin-Like Transcript 3; ILT4=Immunoglobin-Like Transcript 4; LILR= Leukocyte Immunoglobin-Like Receptor [ILT2 = LILRB1, ILT3=LILRB4, ILT4=LILRB2]; LAIR1=Leukocyte-Associated Immunoglobulin-Like Receptor 1; NSCLC=non-small cell lung cancer; RCC= renal cell carcinoma; and SCCHN=squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

NGM Bio is focused on discovering and developing novel, life-changing medicines for people whose health and lives have been disrupted by disease. The company’s biology-centric drug discovery approach aims to seamlessly integrate interrogation of complex disease-associated biology and protein engineering expertise to unlock proprietary insights to generate promising product candidates and enable their rapid advancement into proof-of-concept studies. As explorers on the frontier of life-changing science, NGM Bio aspires to operate one of the most productive research and development engines in the biopharmaceutical industry. All therapeutic candidates in the NGM Bio pipeline have been generated by its in-house discovery engine, with a disease-agnostic mindset, always led by biology and motivated by unmet patient need. Today, the company has seven programs in active development, including four in Phase 2 or 2b studies, across three therapeutic areas: cancer, retinal diseases and liver and metabolic diseases. For more information, visit www.ngmbio.com.