Shasqi to Present Data on Novel Click Chemistry Platform at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting

- SQ3370 maximizes therapeutic benefit and reduces systemic cytotoxic exposure in preclinical models when compared to standard doxorubicin

- A Phase 1 clinical study of SQ3370 in advanced sarcomas and other solid tumors is ongoing

SAN FRANCISCO, April 10, 2021, Shasqi, a clinical stage biotechnology company developing precision activated oncology therapeutics with its proprietary Click Activated Protodrugs Against Cancer (CAPAC™) platform, will present preclinical data and the Phase 1 clinical trial design for its lead clinical candidate, SQ3370, at the upcoming virtual American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2021.

“Our preclinical studies of SQ3370, including IND-enabling toxicology models, continue to strongly support the potential of our CAPAC platform to result in therapies that can maximize the dose at a tumor while reducing systemic toxicities associated with powerful medicines such as doxorubicin,” said José M. Mejía Oneto, M.D., Ph.D., Founder and CEO of Shasqi. “We believe this is a compelling approach that can help patients by dramatically improving the therapeutic window of existing medicines that are widely used but carry challenging toxicity profiles.”

Both preclinical and trial-in-progress posters will be available beginning the first day of the virtual meeting on Saturday, April 10, 2021, at 8:30 a.m. ET and remain available through June 21, 2021.

Preclinical Poster Presentation:
The CAPAC Platform maximizes therapeutic benefit and reduces systemic cytotoxic exposure in small and large animals
Abstract number: 1347
Session: PO.ET06.04. Novel Targets and Pathways
Key findings:

• The maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of SQ3370 was nearly 20 times that of conventional doxorubicin in mice and 11 times that of conventional doxorubicin in rats.
• In canine models, the highest non-severely toxic dose of SQ3370 was 8.95 times higher (8.95 mg/kg/cycle) when compared to the conventional dose of doxorubicin (1 mg/kg/cycle). At this dose, there were minimal systemic adverse events, all of which were reversible, and there was no evidence of cardiotoxicity. Together, these data highlight SQ3370’s enhanced safety.
• The SQL70 biopolymer can be injected at multiple sites, and nearly 50% remains in situ for 2-4 weeks.
• SQ3370 treatment demonstrated a dose-dependent effect on anti-tumor efficacy.

Trial-In-Progress Poster Presentation:
First-in-human Phase I study of SQ3370, a click activated protodrug therapy, in patients with advanced solid tumors
Abstract number: 5465
Session: PO.CT08.01. Phase I Clinical Trials in Progress
SQ3370 is the first click chemistry-based treatment to be tested in humans. A Phase 1 clinical study, SQ3370-001, is currently enrolling patients with advanced sarcomas and other solid tumors in the United States and Australia (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04106492). The company presented preclinical and trial-in-progress data from the SQ3370 program in late 2020 and expects to report initial data from the study in 2021.

‍