Artios initiates Phase 2 study of Polθ Inhibitor ART4215 in Combination with PARP Inhibitor Talazoparib in BRCA Deficient Breast Cancer

LONDON, UK, 10 August 2022: Arix Bioscience plc (“Arix” or the “Company”) (LSE: ARIX), a global venture capital company focused on investing in breakthrough biotechnology companies, notes that its portfolio company, Artios Pharma, today announced it has initiated a Phase 2 study with ART4215, a small molecule inhibitor of polymerase theta (Polθ) in combination with talazoparib (TALZENNA®), an oral poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor in an expansion study for the treatment of BRCA deficient breast cancer.

ART4215 is the first selective, oral, small molecule inhibitor of the Polθ polymerase domain to enter the clinic. Polθ, a DNA polymerase, is a tumor-specific DDR target involved in microhomology mediated end joining (MMEJ) that is overexpressed in many tumors and found in low levels in healthy tissue. Extensive preclinical studies have demonstrated that ART4215 has broad potential clinical utility, as described in Artios’ recent Nature Communications publication, Zatreanu et al., 2021. The Polθ project was originally in-licensed from Cancer Research Technology (now Cancer Research Horizons) in 2016 as part of the initial formation of Artios.