NERVIANO, Italy and BOSTON, Mass., November 14, 2024 – Nerviano Medical Sciences S.r.l. (NMS) – a part of NMS Group S.p.A. (NMS Group) and Nerviano Medical Sciences, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of NMS Srl – a global leader in oncological innovation with a leading position in PARP1 inhibitor clinical development in brain cancer, is pleased to today announce the acquisition of atamparib, the first selective PARP7 inhibitor. This transaction highlights NMS’s commitment to solidify its leadership in PARP biology and expanding its pipeline with transformative cancer therapies designed to meet significant unmet medical needs.
Strategic Enhancement of Oncology Portfolio: Atamparib is currently in Phase II with the potential to be first-in-class. This PARP7 inhibitor enriches NMS’s diverse range of small molecules in the portfolio developed for various types of cancers. PARP7, a crucial target in oncology, is upregulated in response to cellular stress, promoting cancer cell survival. By targeting PARP7 in tumor cells, atamparib has been shown to inhibit cellular proliferation. It is an orally bioavailable small molecule with high potency on pre-clinical models, and a favorable safety and tolerability profile in PhI/II studies.
Leveraging Expertise in PARP Biology: NMS brings extensive knowledge in PARP biology, demonstrated through the development of NMS-293, an oral potent and selective PARP1 inhibitor with non-trapping effects and brain penetrant properties. NMS-293 has shown promising clinical activity in a Ph I/II study in combination with temozolomide in recurrent glioblastoma and astrocytoma patients. Building on this expertise and foundational research conducted by Ribon Therapeutics, NMS will advance the atamparib program into an innovative and effective therapy. This initiative reinforces NMS leadership in the development of PARP inhibitors.
Dr. Hugues Dolgos, CEO of Nerviano Medical Sciences, commented: “We are excited about the addition of atamparib to our pipeline. NMS has been working on PARP7 for a long time, therefore, we believe that we are in a unique position to leverage our knowledge during the clinical development of atamparib. The very recent scientific evidence of the PARP7 biology is directing us to a different setting in which we believe we can demonstrate proof of concept in the clinical trials we plan to initiate in 2025”.
