Ascentage Pharma (6855.HK), a global biopharmaceutical company engaged in discovering, developing, and commercializing therapies to address global unmet medical needs primarily for malignancies, today announced that it has released the follow-up safety and efficacy data of the company's investigational Bcl-2 selective inhibitor, lisaftoclax (APG-2575), in combination with azacitidine (AZA) for the treatment of patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), in a Poster Presentation at the 66th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, taking place in San Diego, CA, the United States.
The ASH Annual Meeting is one of the largest gatherings of the international hematology community, bringing together the most cutting-edge scientific research and latest data of investigational therapies that represent leading scientific and clinical advances in the global hematology field. Garnering growing interest from the global research community, results from multiple clinical and preclinical studies on four of Ascentage Pharma's drug candidates (olverembatinib, lisaftoclax, APG-2449, and APG-5918) have been selected for presentations, including two Oral Reports, at this year's ASH Annual Meeting.
Thes data underscored the potential clinical benefit and manageable safety of lisaftoclax in combination with AZA in MDS. In the results, the combination regimen demonstrated an overall response rate (ORR) of 75% in patients with treatment-naïve (TN) or relapsed/refractory (R/R) MDS, and no patient withdrew from the study due to intolerable toxicities.
Prof. Jie Jin, the principal investigator of the study from the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, noted, "For a long time, there has not been much progress in the treatment of higher-risk MDS and the outcome of the current standard treatment with hypomethylating agents has been disappointing. In patients with MDS, the investigational novel Bcl-2 inhibitor lisaftoclax in combination with AZA has demonstrated clinical benefit and manageable safety that support continued treatment. These observations suggest that the regimen can potentially offer a new standard treatment in MDS."
Prof. Huafeng Wang, the presenter of this study from the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, commented, "Patients with higher-risk MDS often have inadequate marrow function and low tolerance for therapeutic agents. The investigational novel Bcl-2 inhibitor lisaftoclax in combination with AZA has shown encouraging clinical benefit, manageable safety, and low suppression on bone marrow function. More importantly, the regimen showed a low rate of treatment-related infections that were mostly mild, and a low rate of mortalities in early treatment, thus overcoming some of the biggest clinical challenges in this patient population."
Dr. Yifan Zhai, Chief Medical Officer of Ascentage Pharma, said, "These updated efficacy and safety data of lisaftoclax in combination with AZA are very encouraging as they reaffirmed the therapeutic potential of this novel drug candidate. A global registrational Phase III study of lisaftoclax in combination with AZA for the first-line treatment of MDS is currently ongoing and an NDA for lisaftoclax in R/R chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma has already been accepted and granted the Priority Review designation in China. Fulfilling our founding mission of addressing unmet clinical needs in China and around the world, we will expedite the global clinical development of our key drug candidates to bring more safe and effective therapies to patients as soon as possible."
Highlights of the data this study reported at ASH 2024 are as below:
Lisaftoclax (APG-2575), a Novel BCL-2 Inhibitor, in Combination with Azacitidine in Treatment of Patients with Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS)
Format: Poster Presentation
Abstract#: 3202
Session: 637. Myelodysplastic Syndromes: Clinical and Epidemiological: Poster II
Highlights:
Background: Hypomethylating agents (HMAs) remain the standard of care in higher-risk MDS. However, its clinical efficacy is limited, and patients who have failed or are resistant to HMAs have a poor progn...
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