Advancing AI Cancer Drug REC-1245 to Clinical Trials

REC-1245 – Recursion’s first program to reach clinical studies that derived from our AI-enabled Maps of Biology -- is currently in Phase 1/2 clinical trials for patients with select solid tumors and lymphoma. REC-1245 is a potentially first-in-class, potent and selective RBM39 degrader. Preclinical data supports that RBM39 degradation induces splicing defects which downregulate DNA damage response (DDR) networks and cell cycle checkpoints. The Recursion AI-Enabled Breakthrough to discover RBM39: Using our AI-enabled Maps of Biology – which allow us to screen millions of predicted biological and chemical relationships – we identified RMB39 as a novel target which looks functionally similar to the well-known but hard to drug target CDK12. Key Differences in RBM39 vs CDK12 CDK12 is a well-known, yet challenging, cancer target. Many investigational drugs designed to target CDK12 unfortunately also inhibit structurally similar CDK13, resulting in significant toxicity. We leveraged the Recursion OS, exploring predicted relationships across the entire genome and chemical compounds to identify the novel target relationship of RBM39, which our maps suggest has similar biological function to CDK12. Using our platform, we then identified and optimized small molecules, including our candidate molecule REC-1245, that targets RBM39 and has similar effects to loss of CDK12 without affecting CDK13. Significantly Faster than Industry: We progressed from target discovery to IND enabling studies (the step before potential clearance to enter the clinic) in under 18 months – more than twice as fast as the industry average. The Phase 1/2 DAHLIA clinical trial is evaluating the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and potential monotherapy efficacy of REC-1245 in solid tumor indications and lymphoma, with multiple biomarkers being explored.. We estimate that the initially addressable population for this potential therapeutic will be over 100,000 patients in the US and EU5. Learn more: https://ir.recursion.com/news-releases/news-release-details/recursion-reports-first-quarter-financial-results-and-provides