SUZHOU, China and ROCKVILLE, Md., June 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Ascentage Pharma (6855.HK), a global biopharmaceutical company engaged in developing novel therapies for cancer, chronic hepatitis B (CHB), and age-related diseases, announced today that updated results from three studies of olverembatinib (HQP1351), the first China-approved third-generation BCR-ABL1 inhibitorBCR-ABL1 inhibitor, have been released in posters at the 2024 European Hematology Association Hybrid Congress (EHA 2024), taking place in Madrid, Spain. Dr. Elias Jabbour, MD, Department of Leukemia, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer CenterCancer Center, and the Principal Investigator of the study, commented, "The study on olverembatinib demonstrates significant efficacy and a manageable safety profile in patients with heavily pretreated CML and Ph+ ALL, including those with resistance or intolerance to ponatinib and asciminib. These findings indicate that olverembatinib has the potential to be a valuable treatment option for this challenging patient population, warranting further investigation through long-term studies to confirm its clinical benefits." "Updates released at this year's EHA Hybrid Congress, combined with previously reported data, reaffirmed the enormous potential of olverembatinib in patients who are resistant to ponatinib and asciminib," said Dr. Yifan Zhai, Chief Medical Officer of Ascentage Pharma. "Moving forward, we will expeditiously advance the clinical development of this global best-in-class drug in efforts to bring a new treatment option to patients as soon as possible." The EHA Hybrid Congress is the largest gathering of the hematology field in Europe. It showcases the most cutting-edge research and state-of-the-art innovative therapies, attracting over 10,000 clinical experts and researchers from more than 100 countries every year. This year, in addition to the latest data on olverembatinib, Ascentage Pharma also released those of its Bcl-2 inhibitorBcl-2 inhibitor lisaftoclax (APG-2575) and the EED inhibitor APG-5918. Highlights of those data of olverembatinib presented at EHA 2024 are as follows: Presentation Type: Poster presentation
Topic: Chronic myeloid leukemia – Clinical
Date & Time: Friday June 14, 2024, 18:00 - 19:00 CEST
Background: Existing preclinical and clinical data show that olverembatinib, an investigational, novel, potent BCR:: ABL1 TKI, has strong antitumor activity in CML or Ph+ ALL. Introduction: This multicenter, open-label study was designed to assess the safety, efficacy, and pharmacokinetic (PK) profiles of olverembatinib in patients with heavily TKI (including ponatinib and asciminib) pretreated CML or Ph+ ALL. Patient enrollment and methods: As of January 2, 2024, a total of 80 heavily TKI pretreated patients, including 62 patients with CML-CP and 18 patients with advanced Ph+ leukemia (CML-AP, CML-BP, Ph+ ALL), were enrolled. These patients were randomly assigned to receive orally administered olverembatinib at 30, 40, or 50 mg once every other day (QOD) in 28-day cycles. 31/51 (60.8%) patients achieved a complete cytogenetic response (CCyR), and 25/59 (42.4%) achieved a major molecular response (MMR). No differences in the response rates of patients with/without the T315I mutation were observed.
In patients who failed prior treatment with ponatinib, 15/26 (57.7%) achieved a CCyR (including 10/19 [52.6%] patients with prior resistance to ponatinib and 3/4 [75.0%] with prior intolerance of ponatinib), and 11/30 (36.7%) patients achieved an MMR (including 9/21 [42.9%] patients with prior resistance to ponatinib and 1/6 [16.7%] with prior intolerance of ponatinib). In patients who were asciminib-resistant, 4/8 (50.0%) achieved a CCyR, and 4/12 (33.3%) achieved an MMR.
3/14 (21.4%) patients achieved a CCyR, and 3/17 (17.6%) patients achieved an MMR.
72 (90.0%) patients experienced treatment emergent adverse events (TEAEs) during their treatment with olverembatinib. Most of the TEAEs were mild to moderate in severity. Presentation Type: Poster presentation
Date & Time: Friday June 14, 2024, 18:00 - 19:00 CEST
Background: TKIs have improved the long-term outcomes of patients with Ph+ ALL, but resistance to TKIs remains a challenge. Previous reports showed that third-generation TKI ponatinib, combined with chemotherapy, results in a modest rate of complete molecular response (CMR) of 75% in 3 months. Our recent study, a front-line combination of olverembatinib and the PDT-ALL-2016 regimen in Ph+ ALL, had shown a promising outcome, achieving a CMR rate of 84.6% at day 90. Furthermore, the combination of TKI and blinatumomab (BITE) as a chemotherapy-free treatment approach has demonstrated safety and effectiveness. Patient enrollment and methods: From Jan 2022 to Dec 2023, 31 patients with newly diagnosed Ph+ ALL treated with olverembatinib (40mg once every other day) with pediatric-inspired chemotherapy (n=19; PDT-ALL-2016 protocol) or blinatumomab (n=12; administered for a total of 2 weeks followed by 2 weeks of break) were enrolled. The median age was 40 years old, 15 (48.4%) patients had one comorbid disease, and 8 (25.81%) patients had≥2 comorbid diseases. Efficacy results: With a median follow-up of 16 months, all patients achieved a complete remission (CR) after one cycle of treatment. For the entire cohort, 28 (90.3%) patients achieved a CMR within 3 months. Among them, 16 (84.2%) and 12 (100.0%) patients in the TKI + chemotherapy and TKI + BITE cohorts achieved a CMR within 3 months, respectively. The 1-year overall survival (OS) rate was 93.1% and event-free survival (EFS) rate was 78.4% in the entire cohort. For the TKI + chemotherapy cohort, the 1-year OS rate was 96.2% and the EFS rate was 71.5%. In the TKI + BITE cohort, the 1-year OS rate was 100.0% and the EFS rate was 90.0%.
Conclusions: This study showed the combination of olverembatinib and chemotherapy or blinatumomab for treating adult patients with Ph+ ALL. Among the 31 patients enrolled, a notable rate of 1-year survival and CMR was observed, which holds promise for improved long-term survival. Both the TKI + chemotherapy and TKI + BITE cohorts showed good clinical outcomes, although the TKI + BITE cohort exhibited better survival than the TKI + chemotherapy cohort. It is important to note that, although 74.19% of enrolled patients had at least one comorbid disease and the median age was 40 years, the safety profile was acceptable. Patient Reported Outcomes in Adults with TKI-Resistant Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Receiving Olverembatinib-Therapy Presentation Type: e-Poster presentation
Topic: Chronic myeloid leukemia – Clinical
Date & Time: 14, 2024, 18:00 - 19:00 CEST
Background: Third-generation (3G) TKIs have improved the outcomes of patients with TKI-resistant CML. However, there are very limited data on patient reported outcomes in adults receiving 3G TKIs such as olverembatinib. Patient enrollment and methods:
Subjects with TKI-resistance receiving olverembatinib in the multicenter study were invited to complete the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ-C30), the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) and the Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) questionnaires at baseline and regularly during the study treatment. The time trends of the patient reported outcomes were estimated by a linear model using the generalized estimating equation based on the independent working correlation matrix. The generalized estimating equation model was utilized to assess the impact of patients' characteristics at baseline and treatment response during olverembatinib therapy on HRQoL, SAS, and SDS. A total of 159 patients in CP or AP CML were included in this study. Median (range) age was 42 (20-74) years. 104 (65%) patients were male. Interval from diagnosis of CML to initiation of olverembatinib therapy was 5 (0.3-23) years. 77 (48%) patients received olverembatinib therapy within 5 years from the diagnosis of CML. All patients completed the QLQ-C30 questionnaire; and 115 completed the SAS and SDS questionnaires. Assessed by the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire, the top 3 severe symptom burdens at baseline were financial difficulties, fatigue, and insomnia. Eight scale items including global health, physical functioning, emotional functioning, fatigue, pain, dyspnea, diarrhea and financial difficulties improved significantly during olverembatinib therapy. No scale deteriorated significantly. In multivariate analysis, age Conclusions: HRQoL and anxiety symptoms significantly improved over time during olverembatinib therapy in patients with TKI-resistant CML. Younger age, CP than AP, and achieving MMR on olverembatinib therapy were associated with better improvements of HRQoL. *Olverembatinib is an investigational drug that has not been approved for any indication outside the Chinese mainland. Ascentage Pharma focuses on developing therapeutics that inhibit protein-protein interactions to restore apoptosis, or programmed cell death. The company has built a pipeline of 9 clinical drug candidates, including novel, highly potent Bcl-2, and dual Bcl-2/Bcl-xL inhibitors, as well as candidates aimed at IAP and MDM2-p53 pathways, and next-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). Ascentage Pharma is also the registrational phase III studies, in the US, Australia, Europe, and China. Ascentage Pharma has been designated for multiple Major National R&D Projects, including five Major New Drug Projects, one New Drug Incubator status, four Innovative Drug Programs, and one Major Project for the Prevention and Treatment of Infectious Diseases. Olverembatinib, the company's core drug candidate developed for the treatment of drug-resistant chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and the company's first approved product in China, has been granted Priority Review Designations and Breakthrough Therapy Designations by the Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) of China National Medical Products Administration (NMPA). To date, the drug had been included into the China 2022 National Reimbursement Drug List (NRDL). Furthermore, olverembatinib has been granted an Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) and a Fast Track Designation (FTD) by the US FDA, and an Orphan Designation by the EMA of the EU. To date, Ascentage Pharma has obtained a total of 16 ODDs from the US FDA and 1 Orphan Designation from the EMA of the EU for 4 of the company's investigational drug candidates. Leveraging its robust R&D capabilities, Ascentage Pharma has built a portfolio of global intellectual property rights and entered into global partnerships with numerous renowned biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies and research institutes such as UNITY Biotechnology, MD Anderson Cancer CenterCancer Center, Mayo Clinic, Dana-Farber Cancer InstituteCancer Institute, MSD, and AstraZeneca. The company has built a talented team with global experience in the discovery and development of innovative drugs and is setting up its world-class commercial manufacturing and Sales & Marketing teams. One pivotal aim of Ascentage Pharma is to continuously strengthen its R&D capabilities and accelerate its clinical development programs, in order to fulfil its mission of addressing unmet clinical needs in China and around the world for the benefit of more patients. Forward-Looking Statements
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