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ATR Inhibitors, a New Class of Drugs Exhibiting Potential to Avert Growth of the Tumors, Study Suggests

Jan, 2021 - By WMR

According to a phase I clinical trial piloted by the researchers of Institute of Cancer Research, London, and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust have reported that ATR inhibitors, a new class of drugs stops cancer from repairing its DNA, which averts the tumor growth.  Moreover, researchers informed that the drug candidate ATR inhibitor BAY1895344, which was experimented on humans for the first time, and it was observed to be well tolerated and discontinued the growth of tumors in over 50% of the patients in the clinical trial.

In the clinical trial researchers involved 21 patients with advanced solid tumors including breast, bowel, and prostate tumors. The aim of the clinical trial was to assess the safety of the ATR inhibitor BAY1895344. Moreover, researchers also focused on identifying the effective amount of dose that could be provided to a group of cancer patients previously treated with multiple other drugs.

Researchers found that ATR inhibitor BAY1895344 blocked the tumor growth in 8 patients out of the 21 patients. Moreover, they also informed that the drug candidate contracted the tumors in other four patients with ATM mutations. Furthermore, researchers also noted about the effectiveness of the drug, which was long lasting with an average duration of around 1 year (316 days). However, anemia was the most common side effect reported by patients, but it was controlled with the help of blood transfusions without affecting the treatment procedure.

Professor Johann de Bono, Study leader, stated, “Our new trial shows that this promising new treatment is safe and can benefit some patients even with very advanced cancers. The new drug, which is currently known only by the code BAY1895344, works by blocking a molecule called ATR which is involved in repairing DNA. It is very promising to see patients responding in an early-stage trial like this, and we are looking forward to further clinical trials to test the drug's efficacy.”