Abstract 374: In vitro and in vivo anti-tumor activity of ARQ 751, a potent and selective AKT inhibitor
Authors: Yu Yi , Savage Ronald E. , Eathiraj Sudharshan , Hall Terence , Schwartz Brian , Abbadessa Giovanni 
Published: July 2016

Dysregulation of the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway is associated with a number of cancers. AKT can be activated through activated receptor tyrosine kinases, gain-of-function mutations of PIK3CA, PTEN deficiency, and AKT amplification or activating mutations such as AKT1-E17K. We present here the preclinical characterization of ARQ 751, which has distinct physico-chemical properties compared to our first generation inhibitor, ARQ 092.

ARQ 751 has IC50 values of 0.55 nM, 0.81 nM and 1.31 nM for AKT1, 2 and 3, respectively, and does not inhibit any other kinase (out of the 245 tested) by greater than 50% at 5 μM, nor does it inhibit AKT lacking the PH domain. ARQ 751 strongly binds to wild-type AKT1 and mutant AKT1-E17K with Kd of 1.2 nM and 8.6 nM, respectively, and suppresses pAKT(S473) in 293T cells transiently transfected with AKT1-E17K. Additionally, membrane translocation of both wild-type and AKT1-E17K is inhibited in NIH 3T3 cells transiently transfected with wild-type AKT1 or mutant AKT1-E17K. Tests on 240 cancer cell lines (Oncopanel) showed the best antiproliferative effects on esophageal (100%, 3/3), breast (87.5%, 14/16), and head and neck cancer cells (67%, 4/6), with GI50 values GI50 &lt; 1 μM. Cancer cell lines with PIK3CA/PIK3R1 mutations (73%; 33/45) are more sensitive to ARQ 751 (GI50&lt;1μM) compared to wild-type (42%, 74/175). Interestingly, among PIK3CA/PIK3R1 wild type cell lines, the PTEN mutant (55%, 11/20) exhibited a similar sensitivity to PTEN wild-type cell lines (48%, 95/197). Of 17 tested breast cancer cell lines, all 8 with PIK3CA mutations are sensitive to ARQ 751. An in vivo efficacy study in AN3CA endometrial cancer xenograft model shows that ARQ 751 inhibits tumor growth (by up to 92% at the well tolerated continuous daily dose of 120 mg/kg) in a dose-dependent manner. Additionally, ARQ 751 exerted dose-dependent anti-tumor activity (by up to 98% at the 5 days on, 2 days off dose of 75mg/kg) in an AKT1-E17K mutant endometrial patient-derived xenograft (PDX) model. ARQ 751 causes significant pathway inhibition in vitro (at the concentrations of 3 nM on pAKT[S473] and 70 nM on pPRAS40 [T246]) and in vivo (on both pAKT[S473] and pPRAS40[T246] after 6 hours of dosing as low as 10 mg/kg) using AN3CA models. Pharmacokinetic data from repeat doses of ARQ 751 show a plasma half-life of 4 to 5 hours and no tissue accumulation.

In conclusion, ARQ 751 is a potent and selective allosteric AKT inhibitor. PIK3CA/PIK3R1 and AKT mutations but not PTEN may predict ARQ 751 sensitivity. Our analysis suggests that endometrial, breast, esophageal, and head and neck cancers may represent viable indications for ARQ 751. Both PIK3CA/PIK3R1 and AKT1 mutations could be predictive biomarkers for patient selection, regardless of tumor type.

Citation Format: Yi Yu, Ronald E. Savage, Sudharshan Eathiraj, Terence Hall, Brian Schwartz, Giovanni Abbadessa. In vitro and in vivo anti-tumor activity of ARQ 751, a potent and selective AKT inhibitor. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 374.