Ypn-005, An Oral Cdk7 Inhibitor, Shows A Significant Antitumor Activity In Myc Amplified Solid Tumors And Mcl-1 Overexpressed Blood Cancer

Background: Cyclin dependent kinase 7 (CDK7) has been recognized as one of potential therapeutic targets in Myc-driven cancers. Previously, we synthesized selective irreversible CDK7 inhibitor and we demonstrated a significant inhibition of the proliferation of TNBC and HCC cells by down-regulation of c-Myc and MCL-1. We further report YPN-005 of the preclinical data with biological characterization. Methods: Antiproliferative activity of YPN-005 was measured in solid tumor cell lines with Myc amplification and in hematologic cancer cells with MCL-1overexpression. To investigate the mechanism of action of YPN-005, the expression levels of phospho-RNA polymerase II, phospho-CDK2 and -CDK4, BClXL, cleaved-PARP, c-Myc and MCL-1 were analyzed by Western Blot analyses. CDK7 occupancy was determined by using a biotinylated small molecule probe following incubating of TNBC, HCC, AML cells and hPBMC with YPN-005. The therapeutic efficacy of YPN005 was evaluated in TNBC and HCC xenograft mouse model. Results: YPN-005 treatment induced apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. Selectivity of YPN-005 on CDK7 was confirmed in the 468 kinases panel assay. YPN-005 significantly inhibited the proliferation of TNBC, ER+ breast cancer, HCC, ovarian cancer, small cell lung cancer (SCLC), pancreas, prostate and various types of blood cancer cells and IC509s were determined in 1-20 nM range. Inhibition of cell proliferation was accompanied by down-regulation of RNA PolII phosphorylation, c-Myc and MCL-1 expression. Washout assay by Western Blot demonstrated that YPN-005 irreversibly blocked RNA PolII phosphorylation. In addition, YPN-005 downregulated the adaptive immune checkpoint PD-L1 by the depletion of c-Myc in TNBCs. CDK7 occupancy over 90% was observed in TNBC, HCC, and AML cells with 100nM of YPN-005. In vivo xenograft models of TNBC and HCC showed that daily oral administration of YPN-005 for 21 days (once, and 10~20mg/kg) efficiently inhibited the growth of tumor. All the mice survived and there was no significant changes in their hematologic profiles. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that YPN-005 is an orally available, potent, and selective CDK7 inhibitor which can be used for the treatment of Myc and MCL-1 overexpressing cancer patients. These data support the rationale for advancing YPN-005 towards IND-enabling studies. Citation Format: Jakyung Yoo, Jun Hee Lee, Mi Jung Lee, Kang Woo Lee, Ji Eun Min, Jinhwan Kim, Ki-Nam Min, Da-Hye Jeon, Dae Seong Lim, Kwang-Ok Lee. YPN-005, an oral CDK7 inhibitor, shows a significant antitumor activity in Myc amplified solid tumors and MCL-1 overexpressed blood cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research 2020; 2020 Apr 27-28 and Jun 22-24. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(16 Suppl):Abstract nr 4849.