Qurient Co. Ltd. entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to evaluate Qurient?s proprietary CDK7 inhibitor, Q901, in combination with an antibody drug conjugate (ADC) targeting tumor-associated calcium signal transducer 2 (TROP2) with topoisomerase 1 inhibitor payload for the treatment of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and other relapsed solid tumors. Q901 is a highly selective CDK7 inhibitor under Phase 1/2 clinical development in the United States and South Korea.

Qurient demonstrated Q901?s main mechanism of action as transcriptional inhibition of essential genes for tumor progression, including genes involved in DNA damage repair response, which led to strong synergy with a topoisomerase 1 inhibitor (Ref: DOI: 10.1158/1538-7445.AM2024-5712). These results are consistent with prior findings from Dr. Anish Thomas? team at NCI, which revealed a synergistic mechanism between CDK7 inhibition and topoisomerase 1 inhibition (Ref: DOI: 10.1158/1535-7163.MCT-21-0891).

Under this CRADA, NCI and Qurient will collaborate on an NCI-sponsored Phase 1/2 clinical study of Q901 in combination with the TROP2-ADC in SCLC and other relapsed solid tumors, starting from combination dose escalation and evaluating the safety, efficacy, and potential synergy of this novel combination. This collaboration is focused on development and evaluation of this innovative therapy for patients with extensive stage SCLC.