Sareum Holdings PLC on Monday said that GSK PLC subsidiary Sierra Oncology Inc has completed the return of the clinical study reports relating to SRA737 to Sarerum’s co-development partner CRT Pioneer Fund LP.

Sareum is a Cambridge, England-based biotechnology company developing kinase inhibitors for autoimmune disease and cancer, describing SRA737 as a clinical-stage oral, selective checkpoint kinase 1 inhibitor that targets cancer cell replication and DNA damage repair mechanisms.

It said SRA737 was discovered and initially developed by scientists at the Institute of Cancer Research in collaboration with Sareum, with funding from Sareum and Cancer Research UK.

In 2013, CRT Pioneer Fund acquired worldwide commercial rights to the programme as part of a co-development agreement with Sareum.

SRA737 was licensed by CRT Pioneer Fund to Sierra in September 2016, with Sierra progressing SRA737 through phase 1/2 clinical development and reporting positive preliminary efficacy and safety data for the treatment as a monotherapy and in combination with chemotherapy in 2019.

Sareum added that preclinical data demonstrated that triple drug combinations involving SRA737 may show great promise against hard-to-treat cancers. Sierra has not progressed the asset beyond the phase 1/2 clinical trial.

‘Our primary focus remains on developing innovative TYK2/JAK1 inhibitors focused on autoimmune disease, including our lead product SDC-1801,’ said Sareum Chief Executive Officer Tim Mitchell.

Mitchell added that Sareum is evaluating potential further development opportunities for SRA737 with CRT Pioneer Fund.

Following the acquisition of Sierra by GSK in July 2022, primarily for Sierra’s momelotinib myelofibrosis asset, the rights to SRA737 were returned to CRT Pioneer Fund in January.

Shares in Sareum were up 0.6% to 103.10 pence each in London on Monday morning.

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