MET Inhibitors
8 drugsAbout MET
MET, a receptor tyrosine kinase on the cell surface, is crucial for cell growth, survival, and migration signaling pathways. Upon activation, MET triggers intracellular events that can contribute to tumor development and progression.
Human genetic studies provide strong validation for MET as a therapeutic target (max score 0.92), with variants linked to papillary renal cell carcinoma and hereditary neoplastic syndrome. Loss-of-function variants are associated with increased disease risk, suggesting activation may be beneficial.
MET is targeted by 9 FDA-approved drugs, including CABOMETYX and RYBREVANT, primarily through small molecule (6 drugs) and biologic (3 drugs) modalities. These drugs are utilized in oncology (3 drugs) and other therapeutic areas (6 drugs).
Strategic Insights
ℹ️ How we calculate- Validated target with strong trial activity and 82% attractiveness score.
- White space opportunity in Refractory Malignant Solid Neoplasm with only 5 trials.
Human Genetic Evidence Strong
MET has strong genetic support with a max score of 0.92 linked to papillary renal cell carcinoma.
Strong genetic support suggests MET-activating therapies may have a higher probability of clinical success.
💡 Why activation?
- • Loss-of-function variants increase disease risk (OR > 1) — restoring function may help
- • 100% directional consistency across 1 traits
- • Strong signal in cancer or benign tumor, urinary system disease pathways
Cross-Disease Effects
Trade-off: LowDirection of Effect
100% alignedEvidence Across Diseases
18 totalGWAS and other genetic studies link MET to 18 diseases.
Loss-of-function causes disease; activation may help
🔗 Colocalization Evidence 20 strong
max H4: 1.00eQTL/pQTL signals for MET colocalize with these GWAS traits, providing causal evidence that gene expression changes drive disease risk.
Understanding these scores
Association Score (0-1): Combines all evidence types (genetic, literature, drugs, animal models). Higher = more evidence linking target to disease. This is a ranking heuristic, not a confidence score.
L2G Score: Open Targets uses a machine learning model (Locus-to-Gene) to predict which gene is causal at each GWAS locus. L2G=0.5 means ~50% probability of being the causal gene. Only associations with L2G > 0.05 are included.
Odds Ratio (OR): From gene burden studies (UK Biobank, AstraZeneca PheWAS). Measures how loss-of-function variants affect disease risk. OR<1 = protective (inhibiting target may help), OR>1 = risk (losing function causes disease).
Beta (β): Effect size for continuous traits. β<0 = protective, β>0 = risk.
Clinical Translation (~1.8x): Based on Nelson et al. 2015: drug targets with genetic evidence have ~2x higher success rates in clinical trials. We estimate: Strong support (score ≥0.7) → ~1.8x, Moderate (0.3-0.7) → ~1.3x, Weak → baseline.
Colocalization (H4): Tests whether a GWAS signal and an eQTL/pQTL signal share the same causal variant. H4 is the posterior probability that both traits are associated AND share a causal variant. H4 > 0.8 = strong evidence that gene expression/protein levels drive disease risk. This links genetic variation → gene expression → disease, supporting the target-disease connection.
Top Drugs
Seven companies have approved drugs targeting MET, with EXELIXIS and Johnson & Johnson leading the market.
The presence of multiple companies indicates a competitive market, requiring differentiation for new entrants.
| Drug | Company | Approved | Indications |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENSACOVE | XCOVERY | 2024 | 1 |
| RESNIBEN | AZURITY | - | 1 |
| RYBREVANT FASPRO | Johnson & Johnson | 2025 | 1 |
| COMETRIQ | EXELIXIS | 2012 | 1 |
| TABRECTA | Novartis | 2020 | 1 |
Drug Modality Landscape
Modalities
Routes of Administration
MET is druggable by both biologics (2) and small molecules (6), indicating broad therapeutic accessibility.
The prevalence of small molecules suggests a potential whitespace opportunity for novel biologic therapies targeting MET.
📈 Modality Evolution
Small molecules pioneered MET targeting (2012), with other biologics entering more recently (2021).
Clinical Trials 439 trials
Completion by Phase
| Phase | Total | Completed | Failed | Active | Completion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 | 123 | 54 | 18 | 51 | 75% |
| Phase 2 | 216 | 69 | 36 | 109 | 66% |
| Phase 3 | 86 | 42 | 9 | 35 | 82% |
| Phase 4 | 14 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 86% |
Top Sponsors
By Modality
Top Conditions
Phase 3 Readout Calendar Pro
3 Phase 3 trials testing approved MET drugs across all sponsors.
Coverage: trials whose intervention is an approved drug targeting MET. Pre-approval candidates with development codes (e.g. AZD0901, MK-7240) are not yet linked. Anchored on CT.gov primary completion date.
Drug Approval Timeline (2012 - 2025)
Metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with a muta...
Metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring m...
The first MET-targeting drug was approved in 2012, with the most recent approval in 2026, spanning 15 years.
The continued approval of MET-targeting drugs suggests sustained interest and potential for further development.
Pro Intelligence Preview
Deep insights for drug target analysis
Competitive Landscape
- • 7 companies competing
- • Market share by company
Full Drug Portfolio
- • All 8 approved drugs
- • Approval dates & indications
Genetic Validation
- • Full genetic evidence table
- • Effect sizes & directions
Approval Timeline
- • Full 8-drug timeline
- • First-of-modality markers
Clinical Trials Analysis
- • Competition: High (15 sponsors)
- • White space: 4 underexplored indications
- • Success rates by condition
Full summary • All drugs • Genetic evidence • Trials • Timeline
How We Calculate These Metrics
Target Attractiveness Score
A 0-100 score based on trial activity, sponsor diversity, and completion rates. Calculated from 368 clinical trials targeting MET.
Completion rate: Percentage of trials that reached their planned endpoint. Trials terminated early, withdrawn, or suspended are not counted—these often indicate safety issues, lack of efficacy, or strategic pivots.
- Highly Attractive (80+): High trial activity, many sponsors, strong completion rates
- Attractive (60-79): Good trial activity and validation
- Moderate (40-59): Moderate interest from sponsors
- Low (under 40): Limited trial activity or validation concerns
Strategic Insights
Auto-generated insights based on trial analytics including competition intensity, white space opportunities, modality shifts, and failure patterns. We analyze trial sponsors, phases, indications, and outcomes.
Risk Signals
- High Competition: Many sponsors competing for this target (may reduce market opportunity)
- High Failure Risk: Low trial completion rates suggest development challenges
- Low Validation: Limited trial activity or poor outcomes indicate uncertain viability
- White Space Available: Underexplored indications present opportunities