Pfizer lured by array’s cancer know-how

You have full access to this article via your institution. Download PDF Pfizer announced June 17 that it will purchase Array BioPharma for $11.4 billion. In return for its big-bucks outlay,

Pfizer gains the cancer combination Braftovi and Mektovi (encorafenib and binimetinib), marketed for the treatment of melanoma and in use in approximately 30 clinical trials, as well as

potential royalty streams from Array’s out-licensed clinical programs. Several Array-initiated programs using these drugs in combinations focus on colorectal cancer. For example, Braftovi,

Mektovi and Erbitux (cetuximab, Eli Lilly) are in a phase 3 study, and Mektovi plus the PD-1 inhibitor Opdivo (nivolumab, Bristol-Myers Squibb) are in a phase 2 trial. Positive results could

mean that Pfizer is able to benefit from its bolt-on biotech purchase to gain an advantage in the not-so-crowded colorectal cancer market. Pfizer will also get its hands on two of Array’s

drug discovery platforms it deemed “highly productive” during the conference call announcing the acquisition. Array’s first platform is a cell-based phenotypic screen for kinase inhibitors,

together with a chemogenomic library of kinase inhibitors that includes chemoinformatic tools to deconvolute screening results back to the molecular targets of the inhibitors. The kinase

inhibitor platform has been a rich source of clinical-stage kinase inhibitors, leading Array to strike numerous deals. Among the programs originated by Array’s platform are the kinase

inhibitors Vitrakvi (larotrectinib, licensed to Bayer), selumetinib (AstraZeneca), tucatinib (Seattle Genetics), ipatasertib (Genentech) and varlitinib (Aslan). Array’s second platform is a

target-based discovery tool that uses knowledge of cocrystal structures to identify the optimal modulation site on traditionally difficult-to-drug targets such as Ras. An example is MRTX849

(Mirati Therapeutics), currently in early-stage trials for _KRAS_-mutant solid tumors. Pfizer sees these platforms as a potentially fruitful source of new molecules, with the potential for

“one investigational new drug per year … starting possibly 2019,” according to Pfizer executive Mikael Dolsten in the conference call. He added that new molecules might be combined with

Pfizer drugs such as the PD-1 inhibitor sasanlimab. RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Pfizer lured by Array’s cancer know-how. _Nat

Biotechnol_ 37, 833 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-019-0221-0 Download citation * Published: 02 August 2019 * Issue Date: August 2019 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41587-019-0221-0

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