Our Pipeline
Our Pipeline
Discovery
IND Enabling
Phase 1
Late-Stage
Development
IK-595
MEK-RAF
RAS and RAF altered cancers
Combination
Preclinical synergies with multiple agents
The RAS Signaling Pathway
The RAS pathway is a well-known cancer-driving pathway that is mutated in approximately 30% of all human cancers. For decades, the RAS pathway was considered undruggable. Despite advancements in recent years targeting RAS-mutated cancers, approximately 85% of RAS mutations are not addressed by current product candidates or approved therapies. We believe that the key to addressing the unmet need for patients with these mutations is to target the pathway on multiple levels and understand the resistance mechanism to achieve deep and sustained responses.
Exploring Addressable Targets in the RAS Signaling Pathway
IK-595: MEK-RAF Molecular Glue
Ikena’s development candidate, IK-595, traps MEK and RAF in an inactive complex, more completely inhibiting RAS signals than existing inhibitors. IK-595’s ability to complex the RAFs, including CRAF prevents a well-recognized signaling bypass mechanism that cancer cells employ to drive therapeutic resistance to other drugs in this class. In addition, trapping CRAF in an inactive complex prevents the kinase independent anti-apoptotic function in RAS and RAF mutant cancers, a mechanism that cannot be addressed with first generation MEK inhibitors or pan-RAF inhibitors. IK-595 is being developed as an oral therapy, with a half-life enabling a pharmacokinetic profile potentially superior to other drugs, with the goal of developing an optimal therapeutic window for patients.
