Abstract 4690: SC-2882, a novel QPCTL inhibitor, with anti-tumor activity in solid tumor models
Authors: Mullenders Jasper , Scheepstra Marcel , Faas Michel R. , Galler Annette B. , Evers Bastiaan , Wuerthner Jens U. 
Published: March 2024

Background: SC-2882 is an orally administered first-in-class small molecule inhibitor of glutaminyl-peptide cyclotransferase like (QPCTL). QPCTL is an intracellular enzyme that modifies several proteins containing an N-terminal glutamine or glutamate, resulting in pyroglutamylated amino acids. Pyroglutamylation can alter protein function in different ways and dependent on context. Key substrate proteins include the “don’t eat me” signal protein CD47 and several chemokines (CCL2 and CCL7) (Nat Med 2019, Nat Imm. 2022). Previously, we have shown activity of SC-2882 in a murine model of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (Di Siervi, 2023). Here we report for the first time, the evaluation of SC-2882 in several preclinical mouse models for solid tumors.

Methods: Potency of SC-2882 was evaluated in a cell-based assay in several human and mouse tumor cell lines: SIRPα binding to CD47 in response to increasing concentrations of SC-2882 was measured in a flowcytometry-based assay. Several syngeneic mouse tumor models were evaluated for their response towards SC-2882 as a single agent and in combination with either a murine anti-PD-L1 antibody or cisplatin. Animals were dosed orally with SC-2882 once daily for the duration of the experiment.

Results: In all human and mouse cancer cell lines tested, SC-2882 was able to reduce SIRPα binding to CD47 significantly. This reduction was equivalent to the reduction observed in QPCTL genetic knockouts created in the same cell line. In the same experiments, no differences in CD47 expression were observed. From anti-tumor efficacy studies, we learned that SC-2882 was well tolerated in mice as a single agent and in combination with anti-PD-L1 or cisplatin for at least 4 weeks (this was the maximum period tested). No clinical signs or changes in body weight were observed, even over prolonged periods of treatment. Tumor growth inhibition and tumor shrinkage by SC-2882 was observed in 5 different syngeneic mouse tumor models. In two out of these five models, SC-2882 was able to reduce tumor growth as a single agent. In the other three models, tumor growth inhibition was observed in combination with either anti-PD-L1 or cisplatin.

Conclusions: SC-2882 is an orally administered small molecule inhibitor with a favorable PK profile. Preclinical studies show that SC-2882 was well tolerated in mice. In several mouse tumor models, SC-2882 reduced tumor growth in either single agent treated animals or in combination with anti-PD-L1 or cisplatin. SC-2882 is currently in IND enabling studies and scheduled to enter the clinic in 2024.

Citation Format: Jasper Mullenders, Marcel Scheepstra, Michel R. Faas, Annette B. Galler, Bastiaan Evers, Jens U. Wuerthner. SC-2882, a novel QPCTL inhibitor, with anti-tumor activity in solid tumor models [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(6_Suppl):Abstract nr 4690.