BeyondSpring R&D Day Highlights New Plinabulin Development Strategy for Cancer and Updates for SEED Therapeutics

Core Insights - BeyondSpring Inc. hosted a virtual R&D Day to discuss its lead asset Plinabulin and updates on SEED Therapeutics, focusing on addressing unmet medical needs in cancer treatment [1][2] Group 1: Plinabulin Developments - Plinabulin is a dendritic cell maturation agent that may address unmet medical needs in cancer patients who have failed prior PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors [1][2] - The drug has shown durable anti-cancer benefits and a unique mechanism of action, potentially allowing it to be used in earlier lines of treatment [2] - In a phase 3 study, the combination of plinabulin and docetaxel significantly extended overall survival (OS) rates, doubling the 2-year and 3-year OS rates compared to docetaxel alone [2] - Plinabulin has been well-tolerated in over 700 cancer patients across two positive phase 3 studies [2] - The drug demonstrated a greater than 50% disease control rate in multiple cancers that progressed during PD-1/PD-L1 therapy [2] Group 2: SEED Therapeutics and Molecular Glue Technology - SEED Therapeutics focuses on developing "molecular glues" for undruggable targets, differentiating itself with a target-centric approach using novel E3 ligases [4][5] - The RITE3 platform has a diversified drug development pipeline with 6 internal and 2 partnered assets across various therapeutic areas [4] - SEED expects to file an IND for its oral RBM39 degrader in early 2025 for selected cancer indications [4] - Eli Lilly is a collaborator, with potential payments up to $780 million and tiered royalties, having achieved 3 milestones in their partnership [5][6] Group 3: Future Outlook - Preliminary results from ongoing Investigator-Initiated Trials (IIT) of plinabulin are expected in the second half of 2024, which may validate its unique mechanism of action [3] - The company aims to extend and accelerate plinabulin's outreach through third-party partnerships based on interim clinical data [3] - SEED Therapeutics is advancing its oncology asset towards first human dose in the first half of 2025 and Tau degraders for neurodegeneration towards lead molecule status by the end of 2024 [6]