On April 19, 2023 Onconova Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: ONTX), ("Onconova" or "the Company"), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel products for patients with cancer, reported new preclinical data on narazaciclib in two poster presentations at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting (Press release, Onconova, APR 19, 2023, View Source [SID1234630321]).

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"Data being presented at AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) further highlight how narazaciclib’s differentiated inhibitory profile may allow it to overcome the shortcomings of FDA-approved CDK 4/6 inhibitors," said Steven M. Fruchtman, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Onconova. "Kinases recently identified as targets of narazaciclib, but not of the most widely prescribed CDK 4/6 inhibitor include BUB1, the overexpression of which was shown to be associated with poor survival in subtypes of endometrial and breast cancer. In addition, data featured in the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) posters provide additional evidence of narazaciclib’s potential to combine synergistically with therapeutic agents in a variety of drug classes. Looking forward, the learnings from these studies will be a valuable asset as we advance narazaciclib’s Phase 1/2a trial in endometrial cancer and evaluate potential opportunities for its clinical study in additional indications and with combination approaches to promote efficacy in resistant tumors."

Poster 5987: Differential targets engaged by narazaciclib in comparison to the approved CDK 4/6 inhibitors contribute to enhanced inhibition of tumor cell growth.

Featured in this poster are data characterizing narazaciclib’s mechanism of action and activity in preclinical cancer models. Results showed that, in addition to inhibiting kinases such as CDK 4/6, narazaciclib treatment led to the degradation of other kinases not targeted by the FDA-approved CDK 4/6 inhibitor palbociclib. These kinases included BUB1, the overexpression of which was shown to be associated with poor prognosis in breast cancer and uterine corpus endometrial carcinomas. Data from PYMT murine breast cancer cells showed a stronger induction in apoptosis (programmed cell death) with narazaciclib compared to palbociclib and another FDA-approved CDK 4/6 inhibitor, abemaciclib. In addition, data from multiple cell lines suggest that inhibiting autophagy may sensitize breast cancer cells to narazaciclib treatment.

Poster 5974: Synergistic activity of the CDK 4/6 antagonist narazaciclib (ON123300) with irreversible BTK inhibition in ibrutinib-resistant mantle cell lymphoma.

Data featured in this poster demonstrate narazaciclib’s potent antitumor activity against mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) cell lines, independent of their sensitivity to the FDA-approved Bruton’s tyrosine kinase inhibitor ibrutinib. Narazaciclib’s activity against MCL cell lines was shown to be superior to that of the FDA-approved CDK 4/6 inhibitors palbociclib and ribociclib, and similar to that of the FDA-approved CDK 4/6 inhibitor abemaciclib. Combining narazaciclib with ibrutinib led to synergistic increases in antitumor activity against both ibrutinib-sensitive and ibrutinib-resistant MCL cell lines. In addition, narazaciclib exhibited significant antitumor activity without detectable toxicity when combined with ibrutinib in an in vivo model of MCL (embryo chorioallantoic membrane xenograft model).

Copies of the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) posters will be available on the on the "Scientific Presentations" section of the Onconova website following the conclusion of the conference.

On April 19, 2023 Sangamo Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: SGMO), a genomic medicine company, reported that the company is scheduled to release its first quarter 2023 financial results after the market closes on Wednesday, April 26, 2023 (Press release, Sangamo Therapeutics, APR 19, 2023, View Source [SID1234630320]).

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The Company will hold a conference call at 8:30 a.m. ET on Thursday, April 27, which will be open to the public. During the conference call, the company will review its financial results and provide business updates.

Participants should register for, and access, the call using this link. While not required, it is recommended to join 10 minutes prior to the event start. Once registered, participants will be given the option to either dial into the call with the number and unique passcode provided, or to use the dial-out option to connect their phone instantly. The link to access the live webcast can also be found on the Sangamo Therapeutics website in the Investors and Media section under Events and Presentations.

A replay will be available following the conference call, accessible under Events and Presentations.

On April 19, 2023 Panbela Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: PBLA), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing disruptive therapeutics for the treatment of patients with urgent unmet medical needs reported a poster presentation highlighting the results for ivospemin (SBP-101) as a polyamine metabolism modulator in ovarian cancer at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper), taking place April 14-19, 2023 (Press release, Panbela Therapeutics, APR 19, 2023, View Source [SID1234630311]). The work reflects the Company’s ongoing collaboration with Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

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"The treatment of C57Bl/6 mice injected with VDID8+ ovarian cancer with SBP-101 in combination with chemotherapy was observed to significantly prolong survival and decrease overall tumor burden," said Jennifer K. Simpson, PhD, MSN, CRNP, President & Chief Executive Officer of Panbela. "The continued work by collaborators at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine is providing key data to support our efforts to initiate an ovarian cancer program this year."

"The results suggest that SBP-101 in combination with doxorubicin may have a role in the clinical management of ovarian cancer, in particular the platinum-resistant population where few options exist," said Dr. Simpson. "These studies are the basis for moving into a clinical trial program in ovarian cancer with a goal of developing effective novel therapeutics in combination with standard of care for patients with unmet medical needs."

The poster highlights the efficacy of SBP-101 in combination with standard of care chemotherapy agents used to treat platinum-resistant ovarian cancer. Treatment with gemcitabine, topotecan, and doxorubicin have been shown to significantly increase the in vitro toxicity of SBP-101 in both cisplatin-sensitive and cisplatin-resistant ovarian cancer cell lines. Paclitaxel and docetaxel have been shown to not have any added benefit in vitro to SBP-101 alone.

Utilizing the VDID8+ murine ovarian cancer model (ID8+ C57Bl/6 ovarian cells overexpressing both VEGF and Defensin), the efficacy of SBP-101 in combination with either gemcitabine, topotecan, or doxorubicin was evaluated. Gemcitabine and topotecan alone had little effect on the overall survival of the mice, whereas either SBP-101 or doxorubicin treatment alone significantly increased median mouse survival time. The addition of SBP-101 improved the survival of mice treated with any of the three chemotherapeutics. The SBP-101 and doxorubicin combination mice had the greatest survival time with a 265% increase in median survival compared to untreated animals.

Additionally, combining DFMO with ivospemin in vitro resulted in a cooperative antiproliferative response. DFMO has been shown to be well tolerated and can influence immune cells to promote a more immune-friendly tumor microenvironment. Future experiments will evaluate the effect of adding DFMO to ivospemin treatment as well as the influence on immune cells within the tumor microenvironment.

The poster concludes that the treatment of C57Bl/6 mice containing VDID8+ ovarian cancer with SBP-101 in combination with doxorubicin significantly prolonged survival and decreased overall tumor burden. Future studies will be designed to evaluate the effects of SBP-101 in combination with other polyamine metabolism modulators as well as with immune modulators. Details of the presentation are as follows:

Poster Presentation

Title: Evaluating the efficacy of spermine analogue ivospemin (SBP-101) in combination with chemotherapy in ovarian cancer
Session Category: Experimental and Molecular Therapeutics Session
Title: Novel Antitumor Agents, PI3K/AKT Inhibitors, Proteasome Inhibitors, and Topoisomerases Abstract #: 4944

On April 19, 2023 Wugen, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a pipeline of off-the-shelf cell therapies to treat a broad range of hematological and solid tumor malignancies, reported data on WU-NK-101, the company’s lead memory natural killer (NK) cell therapy product, in a poster session at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting 2023, taking place in Orlando, Florida from April 14 – 19, 2023 (Press release, Wugen, APR 19, 2023, View Source [SID1234630319]).

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"These data build on the growing body of evidence demonstrating the broad, powerful immuno-oncology applications of WU-NK-101," said Kumar Srinivasan, Ph.D., M.B.A., President and Chief Executive Officer of Wugen. "In addition to our ongoing efforts to advance WU-NK-101 for AML and colorectal cancer, we plan to explore WU-NK-101 as a salvage therapy for patients who have failed or are resistant to immune checkpoint blockade treatment, given the tremendous need and lack of options in this population."

"WU-NK-101 has a unique phenotype that supports enhanced cytotoxicity, metabolic fitness and flexibility, and resistance to immunosuppression within the TME," added Sergio Rutella, M.D., Ph.D., FRCPath, FRSB, Professor of Cancer Immunotherapy at Nottingham Trent University, and a co-author of the study. "Today’s findings further enhance WU-NK-101’s anti-tumor profile, showing that these cells can also enhance the adaptive immune response in the TME, upregulate key checkpoints, and potentially increase cytotoxicity in combination with checkpoint inhibitors. These findings are extremely promising and suggest a synergistic effect when combining WU-NK-101 with CPI antibodies to treat solid tumors."

Today’s presentation highlighted the following:

Cytokine-induced memory-like (CIML) NK treatment in relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients was associated with high cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) infiltration and led to modifications in the tumor microenvironment (TME) towards a more T-cell amenable environment in solid tumors.
CIML-NK cell infiltration positively and significantly correlated with an abundance of activated T cells and with dendritic cell infiltration, suggesting coordinated changes in immune cell populations within the TME after treatment.
PD-L1 and MHC-I checkpoint upregulation by WU-NK-101 was confirmed in in vitro and in vivo solid tumor models.
In in vitro models, WU-NK-101 secreted factors augmented PD-L1 and MHC-I expression, with a dose-dependent increase observed.
In vivo xenograft models confirmed the efficacy of WU-NK-101 as a monotherapy and confirmed in vitro findings of increased checkpoint expression post-treatment.
The combination of WU-NK-101 with checkpoint inhibitor (CPI) antibodies enhanced cytotoxicity in vitro.
WU-NK-101 has the potential to reverse the primary and acquired mechanisms of immune checkpoint blockade resistance.
The details of Wugen’s presentation at AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) are as follows:

Title: WU-NK-101 as Salvage Therapy Post Immune Checkpoint Blockade (ICB)

Abstract Number: 6418

Date and Time: Wednesday, April 19, 2023, 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. ET

Location: Section 25

Additional meeting information can be found at View Source

About WU-NK-101

WU-NK-101 is a novel immunotherapy harnessing the power of memory natural killer (NK) cells to treat liquid and solid tumors. Memory NK cells are hyper-functional, long-lasting immune cells that exhibit enhanced anti-tumor activity and a cytokine-induced memory-like (CIML) phenotype. This rare cell population has a superior phenotype, proliferation capacity, and metabolic fitness that makes it better suited for cancer therapy than other NK cell therapies. Wugen is applying its proprietary MonetaTM platform to advance WU-NK-101 as a commercially scalable, off-the-shelf cell therapy for cancer. WU-NK-101 is currently in development for acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) and solid tumors.

On April 19, 2023 Viracta Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: VIRX), a precision oncology company focused on the treatment and prevention of virus-associated cancers that impact patients worldwide, reported that Mark Rothera, its President and Chief Executive Officer, and Lisa Rojkjaer, M.D., its Chief Medical Officer, are scheduled to participate in a virtual fireside chat at the Stifel 2023 Targeted Oncology Days on Wednesday, April 26, 2023, at 12:00 p.m. ET (Press release, Viracta Therapeutics, APR 19, 2023, View Source [SID1234630318]).

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A live webcast of the fireside chat will be available on the Investors section of the Viracta website under "Events and Webcasts" and archived for 90 days.