BerGenBio announces the presentation of data from its broad phase II clinical development programme with its selective AXL inhibitor bemcentinib (BGB324) in two posters at the ASCO-SITC Clinical Immuno-Oncology Symposium (January 25-27, San Francisco, CA, USA).
One poster outlined favourable interim safety data from three phase II clinical trials with bemcentinib in combination with KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab), an anti-PD-1 therapy marketed by Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA. Furthermore, an AXL immunohistochemistry (IHC) method developed and validated by the company was shown to clearly detect the presence of AXL on tumour and immune cells in patient samples thus holding promise as a potential future companion diagnostic.
The second poster provided translational analyses from BerGenBio’s phase II trial in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), with bemcentinib used as a single agent. The results showed a clear immunomodulatory effect as a result of selective AXL inhibition, as evidenced by increased immune activity characterised by diversification of patients’ T-cell receptor repertoire.
Richard Godfrey, CEO of BerGenBio commented: “I am pleased that the data presented at ASCO-SITC demonstrate that our first-in-class, selective AXL inhibitor bemcentinib is well tolerated in combination with the anti-PD-1 therapy KEYTRUDA. This is fundamental data supporting the positioning of AXL inhibition as a future cornerstone of cancer therapy. I am also extremely encouraged by the data reported showing that bemcentinib can generate a positive immune response, particularly in R/R AML and MDS patients who tend to be a severely immunocompromised patient population. These data build on the recently reported favourable safety data of bemcentinib in combination with chemo- and targeted therapy as well as the first evidence of bemcentinib’s ability to reverse acquired resistance to these treatments. I look forward to reporting continued progress across our broad phase II development programme with bemcentinib at medical and scientific congresses during the upcoming months.”
