ORIC Pharmaceuticals is walking away from the lead program used to underpin its 2020 IPO after the cancer med fell short in several early-stage trials.
ORIC, which stands for overcoming resistance in cancer, announced the pipeline change in a fourth-quarter update Monday after market close. The news brought shares down 32% to about $4.50 as the markets opened Tuesday.
ORIC-101 is a glucocorticoid receptor antagonist that had been tested in phase 1b trials in combination with various drugs, including Pfizer and Astellas’ Xtandi, for prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, ovarian cancer, breast cancer and other advanced solid tumors.
The company said it decided to jettison the asset after an interim analysis from those tests found ORIC-101 did not demonstrate sufficient clinical activity to warrant further development. Chief Medical Officer Pratik Multani, M.D., said the company was disappointed in the results, but the studies were well designed, “allowing us to thoroughly and efficiently answer an important clinical question.”
“We’ve always been committed to rapid, data-driven decision-making and allocating resources efficiently and prudently,” CEO Jacob Chacko, M.D., said.
ORIC had touted ORIC-101 as its lead program in the buildup to the company’s IPO in 2020, which closed at $138 million. The money was earmarked to advance the med through phase 1b and into phase 2. But ORIC also tabbed some of the funds for its second asset, ORIC-533, a small-molecule inhibitor of CD73. That drug is now in phase 1b trials as a single agent for multiple myeloma. Early data are expected in the first half of 2023.
Other options left over after the lead program fades include an EGFR/HER2 Inhibitor for solid tumors called ORIC-114, the prostate cancer drug ORIC-944 and an early breast cancer program. ORIC expects phase 1b data for ORIC-114 and ORIC-944 in the first half of 2023.
With ORIC-101 now axed, the company has $280.4 million on hand in cash, cash equivalents and investments, which is expected to provide a runway into the second half of 2024. That will give ORIC time to roll out data on its other potential meds, Chacko said.