Galapagos reports early clinical results for SIK inhibitor

Galapagos has reported early results from three studies of its salt inducible kinase (SIK) 2/3 inhibitor GLPG3970, the first candidate from its portfolio of SIK inhibitor compounds.

GLPG3970 was evaluated in a Phase Ib study in moderate to severe psoriasis and two Phase IIa studies in patients with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis (UC) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

In each study, GLPG3970 was found to be well tolerated and generally safe, with no death or serious adverse events reported. The majority of treatment emergent adverse events were mild or moderate in nature, Galapagos added.

In the Phase Ib psoriasis study, four out of 13 patients treated with the SIK 2/3 inhibitor had a PASI1 50 response, defined as at least 50% improvement of baseline PASI, compared to none on placebo at week six.

Galpagos also reported results from the Phase IIa trial in UC, with positive signals observed in patients on GLPG3970, including on objective parameters such as endoscopy, histology and faecal calprotectin.

However, these findings did not translate in a differentiation from placebo on change from baseline total Mayo Clinic Score in the six-week study.

Finally, in the Phase IIa trial in RA, patients on GLPG3970 showed no differentiation from placebo on change from baseline DAS28 response, nor on the majority of other efficacy endpoints.

GLPG3970 is the first compound in Galapagos’ portfolio of novel molecules aiming to provide clinical evidence for the potential role of SIK inhibition in inflammation.

SIK is a novel target class, with Galapagos discovering its potential role in inflammation. The Toledo programme is aiming to treat a broad range of autoimmune conditions, using small molecule inhibitors of SIK targets with different selectivity profiles.

"We are excited to demonstrate, for the first time, important biologic and clinical effects with a SIK inhibitor in patients with inflammatory conditions. This is a major achievement when working on a novel mode of action target class,” said Walid Abi-Saab, chief medical officer of Galapagos.