Panbela Announces Poster Presentation at American Association for Cancer Research:
Evaluating the potential of spermine analogue ivospemin (SBP-101) in combination with chemotherapy in ovarian cancer

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