Pirtobrutinib 100mg tablets

BACKGROUND: Patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL) have poor outcomes after the failure of covalent Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor treatment, and new therapeutic options are needed. Pirtobrutinib, a highly selective, noncovalent (reversible) BTK inhibitor, was designed to reestablish BTK inhibition. METHODS: We conducted a phase 1-2 trial in which patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell cancers received pirtobrutinib. Here, we report efficacy results among patients with CLL or SLL who had previously received a BTK inhibitor as well as safety results among all the patients with CLL or SLL. The primary end point was an overall response (partial response or better) as assessed by independent review. Secondary end points included progression-free survival and safety. RESULTS: A total of 317 patients with CLL or SLL received pirtobrutinib, including 247 who had previously received a BTK inhibitor. Among these 247 patients, the median number of previous lines of therapy was 3 (range, 1 to 11), and 100 patients (40.5%) had also received a B-cell lymphoma 2 (BCL2) inhibitor such as venetoclax. The percentage of patients with an overall response to pirtobrutinib was 73.3% (95% confidence interval [CI], 67.3 to 78.7), and the percentage was 82.2% (95% CI, 76.8 to 86.7) when partial response with lymphocytosis was included. The median progression-free survival was 19.6 months (95% CI, 16.9 to 22.1). Among all 317 patients with CLL or SLL who received pirtobrutinib, the most common adverse events were infections (in 71.0%), bleeding (in 42.6%), and neutropenia (in 32.5%). At a median duration of treatment of 16.5 months (range, 0.2 to 39.9), some adverse events that are typically associated with BTK inhibitors occurred relatively infrequently, including hypertension (in 14.2% of patients), atrial fibrillation or flutter (in 3.8%), and major hemorrhage (in 2.2%). Only 9 of 317 patients (2.8%) discontinued pirtobrutinib owing to a treatment-related adverse event. CONCLUSIONS: In this trial, pirtobrutinib showed efficacy in patients with heavily pretreated CLL or SLL who had received a covalent BTK inhibitor. The most common adverse events were infections, bleeding, and neutropenia. (Funded by Loxo Oncology; BRUIN ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT03740529.).

Abstract licence: CC BY-NC-ND

PURPOSE: BRUIN CLL-313 is a randomized, open-label, global phase III study comparing the efficacy and safety of pirtobrutinib, a highly selective, noncovalent Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor (BTKi), against bendamustine plus rituximab (BendaR), a common frontline chemoimmunotherapy, in treatment-naïve patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL). METHODS: Patients with previously untreated CLL/SLL without del(17p) were randomly assigned 1:1 to continuous pirtobrutinib monotherapy or BendaR, stratified by immunoglobulin heavy chain gene mutation status and Rai stage. The primary end point was independent review committee (IRC)-assessed progression-free survival (PFS); secondary end points included overall survival (OS), investigator (INV)-assessed PFS, safety, and tolerability. RESULTS: < .0001), and the 24-month PFS rate was 93.4% (95% CI, 87.6 to 96.5) and 70.7% (95% CI, 61.5 to 78.1), respectively. INV-assessed PFS similarly favored pirtobrutinib (HR, 0.186 [95% CI, 0.093 to 0.371]). Interim analysis of OS favored pirtobrutinib (median follow-up 32 months; HR, 0.257 [95% CI, 0.070 to 0.934]) despite an effective crossover rate of 52.9%. In patients receiving pirtobrutinib versus BendaR: adverse event (AE)-related dose reductions occurred in 3.6% versus 31.1% of patients; grade ≥3 treatment-emergent AEs (TEAEs) occurred in 40.0% versus 67.4% of patients; and treatment discontinuations because of TEAEs occurred in 4.3% versus 15.2% of patients, respectively. CONCLUSION: Pirtobrutinib demonstrated superiority over BendaR in IRC-assessed PFS in treatment-naïve CLL/SLL. OS trends favored pirtobrutinib despite the study design allowing for crossover. Pirtobrutinib was well tolerated, consistent with its known safety profile, and more favorable than BendaR.

Abstract licence: CC BY-NC-ND

Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK), a nonreceptor tyrosine kinase, is a major therapeutic target for B-cell-driven malignancies. However, approved covalent BTK inhibitors (cBTKis) are associated with treatment limitations because of off-target side effects, suboptimal oral pharmacology, and development of resistance mutations (eg, C481) that prevent inhibitor binding. Here, we describe the preclinical profile of pirtobrutinib, a potent, highly selective, noncovalent (reversible) BTK inhibitor. Pirtobrutinib binds BTK with an extensive network of interactions to BTK and water molecules in the adenosine triphosphate binding region and shows no direct interaction with C481. Consequently, pirtobrutinib inhibits both BTK and BTK C481 substitution mutants in enzymatic and cell-based assays with similar potencies. In differential scanning fluorimetry studies, BTK bound to pirtobrutinib exhibited a higher melting temperature than cBTKi-bound BTK. Pirtobrutinib, but not cBTKis, prevented Y551 phosphorylation in the activation loop. These data suggest that pirtobrutinib uniquely stabilizes BTK in a closed, inactive conformation. Pirtobrutinib inhibits BTK signaling and cell proliferation in multiple B-cell lymphoma cell lines, and significantly inhibits tumor growth in human lymphoma xenografts in vivo. Enzymatic profiling showed that pirtobrutinib was highly selective for BTK in >98% of the human kinome, and in follow-up cellular studies pirtobrutinib retained >100-fold selectivity over other tested kinases. Collectively, these findings suggest that pirtobrutinib represents a novel BTK inhibitor with improved selectivity and unique pharmacologic, biophysical, and structural attributes with the potential to treat B-cell-driven cancers with improved precision and tolerability. Pirtobrutinib is being tested in phase 3 clinical studies for a variety of B-cell malignancies.

Abstract licence: CC BY-NC-ND

Patients with lymphoproliferative disorders such as chronic lymphocytic leukemia and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) who are resistant to covalent Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitors (cBTKis), especially if also venetoclax refractory, have an unmet therapeutic need. Pirtobrutinib, a noncovalent BTKi, achieves high response rates in patients who are refractory to cBTKi, regardless of mechanism of cBTKi resistance. This led to recent accelerated US Food and Drug Administration approval in MCL. The toxicity profile in early studies suggests suitability for use in combination approaches. We summarize existing preclinical and clinical data for pirtobrutinib.

Abstract licence: CC BY-NC-ND