Discovery of TYRA-300: First Oral Selective FGFR3 Inhibitor for the Treatment of Urothelial Cancers and Achondroplasia

  • J Med Chem. 2024 Sep 26;67(18):16737-16756. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.4c01531.
Robert L Hudkins  1 Eric Allen  1 Alexandra Balcer  1 Isaac D Hoffman  1 Samhita Iyer  1 Melissa Neal  1 Kirk J Nelson  1 Marc Rideout  1 Qing Ye  1 Jacqueline H Starrett  1 Piyush Patel  1 Todd Harris  1 Ronald V Swanson  1 Daniel C Bensen  1
Affiliations
  • 1. Tyra Biosciences, Inc., 2656 State Street, Carlsbad, California 92008, United States.
Abstract

Activating FGFR3 alterations have been identified in up to 15-20% of muscle-invasive bladder Cancer and metastatic urothelial carcinoma (mUC), and as high as 80% in nonmuscle invasive bladder cancers. FGFR3 germline mutations have also been associated with a variety of skeletal dysplasias. Achondroplasia, the most common form of dwarfism in humans, results from a G380R mutation in FGFR3. The pan-FGFR inhibitor erdafitinib was approved for the treatment of mUC with FGFR3 alterations but is limited due to FGFR isoform off-target toxicities and the development of on-target gatekeeper resistance mutations. TYRA-300 (22) was conceived using a structure-based approach as a potent FGFR3-selective inhibitor to avoid the toxicities associated with inhibition of FGFR1, FGFR2, and FGFR4, and to be agnostic for the FGFR3 gatekeeper mutations. TYRA-300 is being evaluated in a Phase 1 clinical trial in urothelial cancers and solid tumors, with intention to initiate Phase 2 studies in urothelial cancers and achondroplasia.