Abstract 1267: Combination therapy of JNJ-67856633, a novel, first-in-class MALT1 protease inhibitor, and JNJ-64264681, a novel BTK inhibitor, for the treatment of B-cell lymphomas
Authors: Philippar Ulrike , Fontan Lorena , Cornelissen Ivo , Rui Haopeng , Balasubramanian Sriram , Gaudiano Marcello , Bekkers Mariette , Van Nuffel Luc , Lu Tianbao , Lu Tianbao , Wiener John , Tichenor Mark , Greway Tony , Packman Kathryn , Verbist Bie , Elsayed Yusri , Attar Ricardo , Bussolari Jacqueline , Gerecitano John 
Published: July 2021

Background: Constitutive activation of the classical nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B-cells (NF-κB) pathway is a clear driver of B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHL). Bruton's Tyrosine Kinase (BTK) and Mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma translocation protein 1 (MALT1), which lies downstream of BTK, are key mediators of the classical NF-κB signaling pathway activated by BCR and TCR receptors. JNJ-67856633 is a first-in-class MALT1 protease inhibitor. JNJ-64264681 is a BTK inhibitor with improved selectivity against BTK. Blocking the BCR pathway at multiple points using these two orally bioavailable compounds could enhance clinical activity in B-cell lymphoma patients.

Methods: JNJ-67856633 and JNJ-64264681 are currently being evaluated in phase 1 clinical trials designed to establish safety, PK, PD and the Recommended Phase 2 Dose (RP2D) of each agent.

Results: JNJ-67856633 is a potent, selective, orally bioavailable, allosteric inhibitor of MALT1 protease activity. The compound inhibits proliferation of activated B-cell diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (ABC-DLBCL) cell lines bearing CD79b or CARD11 mutations as well as models mimicking resistance to covalent BTK inhibitors. JNJ-67856633 exhibits potent tumor growth inhibition in two human DLBCL xenograft models, OCI-Ly3 and OCI-Ly10, and mutation selected patient derived DLBCL xenografts. Furthermore, treatment with JNJ-67856633 leads to dose dependent inhibition of the generation of Tregs (CD4+CD25+FoxP3+) following CD3/28 stimulation in vitro, suggesting a potential immune modulatory role of MALT1 inhibition. JNJ-64264681 is an orally active small molecule that is a potent, selective, and irreversible covalent BTK inhibitor. JNJ-64264681 inhibits the growth of CD79b-mutant DLBCL cell lines in vitro and potently inhibits tumor growth in xenograft- or patient-derived DLBCL models in vivo. Treatment with JNJ-64264681 and JNJ-67856633 administered together demonstrated statistically significant tumor growth inhibition compared with vehicle control in two CD79b mutant mouse lymphoma models, one based on a DLBCL cell line (OCI-Ly10) and one based on a patient-derived DLBCL model (LY2298). In both models, the combination showed increased growth inhibition compared with single agents and tumor regression in the combination arm. Synergistic anti-proliferative activity was observed in three DLBCL cell lines carrying CD79b mutations and one MCL cell line.

Conclusions: Taken together, the in vitro and in vivo data for JNJ-67856633 and JNJ-64264681 suggest that combination therapy can increase the anti-tumor effect of the monotherapies and provide a more sustained response, offering strong support for clinical investigation of the combination of these two novel agents. A phase 1b combination study is scheduled to initiate.

Citation Format: Ulrike Philippar, Lorena Fontan, Ivo Cornelissen, Haopeng Rui, Sriram Balasubramanian, Marcello Gaudiano, Mariette Bekkers, Luc Van Nuffel, Tianbao Lu, Tianbao Lu, John Wiener, Mark Tichenor, Tony Greway, Kathryn Packman, Bie Verbist, Yusri Elsayed, Ricardo Attar, Jacqueline Bussolari, John Gerecitano. Combination therapy of JNJ-67856633, a novel, first-in-class MALT1 protease inhibitor, and JNJ-64264681, a novel BTK inhibitor, for the treatment of B-cell lymphomas [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr 1267.