COGT vs. BPMC at ASH2023

This weekend COGT reports some Big-Mover data on  Bezuclastinib (CGT9486) at ASH.

COGT Clinical Pipelilne

COGT is a biopharma hedge-fund favorite. In fact, as of Sep 30, 2023, they were held by 15 of the top 34 biopharma hedge funds that we track. That is more than any other company. And they remain one of the most popular Top 20 holdings in those funds.

COGT's lead asset, Bezuclastinib (CGT9486), is a KIT inhibitor that is being developed to treat GIST and Systemic Mastocytosis.

The obvious competitor here is BPMC's AYVAKIT, which has been gaining traction in the market after a recent approval for a broader label covering indolent SM, not just advanced SM.  BPMC has been a nice stock holding after the market noticed their good commercial progress with AYVAKIT and indolent SM when they released their Q3 numbers. And the stock has been running ever since.

COGT is hoping that Bezu will provide less risk of brain-related AEs since it crosses the blood-brain barrier only minimally. It is being positioned as potentially preventing intracranial bleeding and cognitive adverse events seen in some AYVAKIT trials. Thus, potentially providing better efficacy than AYVAKIT at the lower doses that AYVAKIT is being used for indolent SM to avoid those AEs. The readouts this weekend, will not only likely affect COGT's stock price but should have a counter affect on BPMC's stock as well. BPMC has their own ASH readout this weekend, with Part 1 data from its HARBOR trial for its next gen KIT inhibitor with minimaol brain penetration, elenestinib in indolent SM. For a helpful recent review of these drugs see "Current and Emergent Therapies for Systemic Mastocytosis".

One interesting fact about COGT is their drug discovery/development R&D group. This group includes a significant team from the highly successful Array Biopharma team FN^1 that was acquired by Pfizer in 2019. This team had an impressive track record of developing small molecule oncology drug candidates. On a recent call, COGT disclosed that that team in Boulder, CO increased to 60 members. And it has recently been reported that Pfizer was apparently selling off the former Array site in Boulder and laying off workers from that site. Array's drug development team had an impressive track record of at least 25 new drug candidates reaching the clinic, and 5 approved drugs. The Array drug development team might be one reason for all the hedge-fund interest in COGT. We can see that COGT has a growing pre-clinical pipeline.

COGT Preclin pipeline as of 12/8/23

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This article is not investment, tax, or legal advice. Please do your own diligence and seek advice from professional advisors representing your interests.

Article history:

Originally posted 12/8/23

#COGT #BPMC #KIT #Systemic_Mastocytosis #ASH2023

FN^1

Info from COGT on their drug discovery R&D team

• Appointed John Robinson, PhD, as Chief Scientific Officer

  • Dr. Robinson joins the Cogent Biosciences team from Pfizer where he most recently served as Vice President, Medicinal Chemistry. For more than 15 years prior to his time at Pfizer, Dr. Robinson was a senior member of the Array BioPharma scientific leadership team, a group responsible for developing over 25 Investigational New Drug (IND) applications including five U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved medicines: MEKTOVI® (binimetinib), TUKYSA® (tucatinib), VITRAKVI® (larotrectinib), Retevmo™ (selpercatinib) and Koselugo™ (selumetinib). Dr. Robinson holds a BS from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a PhD from the University of Delaware.

• Appointed Evan Kearns, JD, as Chief Legal Officer

  • Mr. Kearns joins Cogent with nearly 15 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry. Prior to joining Cogent, Mr. Kearns served as Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary and Chief Compliance Officer at Agenus Inc., where he guided the global biopharmaceutical company through multiple clinical and preclinical programs. Previously, Mr. Kearns worked at the Boston office of Goodwin Procter LLP, where he advised both public and private companies in domestic and international transactions including corporate and securities law matters, merger, acquisition and financing transactions, and corporate governance. Mr. Kearns holds a BA from Colby College and a JD from the University of Toledo.

• Announced Formation of Cogent Research Team

  • Based in Boulder, Colorado, the Cogent Research Team will focus on pioneering best-in-class, small molecule therapeutics to expand Cogent's pipeline and deliver novel precision therapies for patients living with unmet medical needs. Dr. John Robinson will lead the Cogent Research team composed of highly experienced scientists including several key leaders already in place.

  • Brad Fell as Vice President, Chemistry

    • Mr. Fell brings over 30 years of industrial experience in drug discovery and early clinical development to Cogent with an emphasis on oncology research. As a leader of multidisciplinary teams, Mr. Fell has managed numerous projects from target selection through candidate nomination and IND filing. Notably, he was the project leader for the Array BioPharma/Mirati Therapeutics collaboration that resulted in the KRASG12C inhibitor MRTX849 and the KRASG12D inhibitor MRTX1133. Mr. Fell holds a BS from The Ohio State University and an MS from Northeastern University.

  • Francis Sullivan, PhD as Vice President, Enzymology and Structural Biology

    • Dr. Sullivan comes most recently from Array BioPharma/Pfizer Boulder where he was senior director of enzymology/HTS and structural biology. In nearly 20 years at Array, he was involved in numerous programs that successfully advanced compounds into clinical trials. Prior to that, Dr. Sullivan was assistant director of enzymology for 12 years at Genetics Institute/Wyeth. Dr. Sullivan holds a BA from the University of Pennsylvania and a PhD from the University of Colorado.

  • Shannon Winski, PhD as Vice President, Pharmacology and Toxicology

    • Dr. Winski comes most recently from Array BioPharma/Pfizer Boulder where she led multiple drug discovery teams from early-stage lead optimization through IND candidate selection. Prior to this, she worked in the cancer biology department at OSI Pharmaceuticals (previously Gilead Sciences), primarily providing scientific support for development stage cytotoxic and targeted therapeutic candidates. Dr. Winski holds a BS and PhD from the University of Arizona.