On December 4, 2025 iOnctura, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company combating neglected and hard-to-treat cancers, reported it has dosed the first patient in its Phase I/II clinical trial evaluating roginolisib in patients with MF who are no longer responding to JAK inhibition. Further details of the trial will be presented in a poster presentation at the 67th American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida on Sunday, December 7 at 6pm EST.
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This milestone marks an important step toward addressing the significant unmet medical needs of MF patients who face diminishing therapeutic options, as their disease progresses or becomes resistant to standard-of-care JAK inhibitor treatment.
The Phase I/II trial is part of a comprehensive development program evaluating next-generation PI3Kδ inhibitor roginolisib’s tolerability and anti-tumor response across a number of solid and hematologic malignancies.
"Based on non-clinical data being presented at ASH (Free ASH Whitepaper), we anticipate that targeting both the PI3Kδ and JAK pathways could have a synergistic effect in MF — an approach that has previously eluded older generation PI3Kδ inhibitors because of their unfavorable tolerability profiles." said Dr Michael Lahn, Chief Medical Officer of iOnctura.
Overactivation of the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway contributes to the occurrence and progression of cancer[1]. In MF, pathway activation is a well described mechanism of resistance in response to JAK inhibition[2]. Inhibition of this pathway using roginolisib may overcome the lack of response and lead to a beneficial therapeutic effect. Non-clinical evidence in support of this mechanism is being presented at ASH (Free ASH Whitepaper) on Monday, December 8, 2025 at 6pm EST.
These data demonstrate monotherapy activity of roginolisib against MF cell lines and in vitro models of primary MF cells. Further, roginolisib and JAK inhibition (ruxolitinib or momelotinib) exerts a synergistic anti-cancer effect. These data support the rationale behind the ongoing HEMA-MED clinical trial.
Professor Alessandro Vannucchi, Professor of Hematology and Department Head of the Center for Research and Innovation in Myeloproliferative Neoplasms (CRIMM) at the University of Florence, Florence, Italy and Principal Investigator of the HEMA-MED study said: "Myelofibrosis patients often have suboptimal responses to ruxolitinib and/or acquire resistance over time. Roginolisib’s intriguing mechanism of action and favorable toxicity profile position it as a compelling partner for ruxolitinib. By combining these agents, we could unlock more durable responses and redefine therapeutic expectations for this challenging rare disease."
In addition to the two posters related to MF, trials in progress posters for the ongoing investigations of roginolisib in peripheral T-cell lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) will also be presented at ASH (Free ASH Whitepaper).
iOnctura poster presentations at the 67th ASH (Free ASH Whitepaper) Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida, USA:
1. A Vannucchi et al. Trial in progress: Sunday, December 7, 06:00 PM – 08:00 PM EST
Abstract 25-4153: A study of roginolisib in combination with ruxolitinib in patients with myelofibrosis who are unresponsive to JAK inhibitors (HEMA-MED)
2. M Balliu et al.: Monday, December 8, 06:00 PM – 08:00 PM EST
Abstract 25-7102: The selective PI3Kd inhibitor roginolisib synergizes with ruxolitinib against progenitor cells from naïve and JAK-inhibitor-refractory/resistant patients with myelofibrosis
3. D Sibon et al. Trial in progress: Sunday, December 7, 06:00 PM – 08:00 PM EST
Abstract 25-11050: PlatΤform: A multicenter, multi-arm, academic platform trial evaluating novel agents and combinations in relapsed or refractory peripheral T-cell lymphomas
4. J Brown et al. Trial in progress: Sunday, December 7, 06:00 PM – 08:00 PM EST
Abstract 25-7765: Roginolisib (IOA-244), an orally bioavailable, selective PI3Kδ inhibitor, in combination with venetoclax and rituximab in patients with relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)
About myelofibrosis (MF)
MF is a rare myeloproliferative neoplasm marked by activation and growth of mutated cells in the bone marrow, with approximately 0.5 cases per 100,000 individuals diagnosed globally a year[3].
JAK inhibitors are a key treatment option for MF patients and improve symptoms and quality of life, but approximately half of patients discontinue therapy within three years[4]. Reasons for discontinuation include disease progression, tolerability and adverse events and death resulting from resistance to the JAK therapy[5],[6].
About the HEMA-MED clinical trial
The HEMA-MED trial (NCT06887803) is a prospective, multi-center, open-label Phase I/II single arm trial consisting of two parts. Part 1 (Phase 1) will enroll 13 patients to assess the safety of the combination of the PI3Kδ inhibitor roginolisib in combination with the JAK inhibitor ruxolitinib, and Part 2 (Phase 2) will expand to enroll 13 additional patients to further allow the assessment of benefit/risk for all 26 patients. In addition to safety, the secondary endpoints of the HEMA-MED trial include blood biomarker and spleen reduction responses, and improvements of MF related symptoms. Exploratory measures will assess endpoints associated with the mechanism of action (MOA) of roginolisib.
(Press release, iOnctura, DEC 4, 2025, View Source [SID1234661140])