On March 17, 2026 Ascentage Pharma Group International (NASDAQ: AAPG; HKEX: 6855), a global, commercial stage, integrated biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery, development and commercialization of novel, differentiated therapies to address unmet medical needs in cancer, reported that four abstracts highlighting the latest preclinical results from its pipeline programs have been selected for poster presentations at the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting 2026, taking place April 17-22, 2026, in San Diego, CA, USA.

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The data to be presented encompasses three of the Company’s novel drug candidates: BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase inhibitor Olverembatinib (HQP1351), FAK/ALK/ROS1 tyrosine kinase inhibitor APG-2449, and PRC2/EED inhibitor APG-5918.

The AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting 2026 is the critical driver of progress against cancer, the place where scientists, clinicians, other health care professionals, survivors, patients, and advocates gather to share and discuss the latest breakthroughs. From population science and prevention; to cancer biology, translational, and clinical studies; to survivorship and advocacy; the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting showcases cutting-edge cancer science and medicine.

The four preclinical abstracts from Ascentage Pharma include:

Multitarget kinase inhibitor olverembatinib (HQP1351) is efficacious and synergizes with chemotherapy in preclinical models of endometrial carcinoma (EC)

Abstract#: 4583
Poster Session Category: Experimental and Molecular Therapeutics
Session Title: Novel Antitumor Agents 2
Time: Tuesday, April 21, 2026, 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM PDT

Multikinase inhibitor olverembatinib (HQP1351) is efficacious and synergizes with BTK inhibitor acalabrutinib in mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) preclinical models

Abstract#: 5875
Poster Session Category: Experimental and Molecular Therapeutics
Session Title: Tyrosine Kinase, Phosphatase, and Other Inhibitors
Time: Tuesday, April 21, 2026, 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM PDT

FAK inhibition by APG-2449 enhances the antitumor activity of MAPK pathway blockade in BRAF V600E-mutant tumor models

Abstract#: 1858
Poster Session Category: Experimental and Molecular Therapeutics
Session Title: Targeting Drug Resistance 1: Apoptosis and Autophagy
Time: Monday, April 20, 2026, 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM PDT

Embryonic ectoderm development (EED) inhibitor APG-5918 synergizes with topoisomerase I inhibitors in preclinical small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) models through epigenetic priming of chemosensitivity

Abstract#: 4500
Poster Session Category: Experimental and Molecular Therapeutics
Session Title: Epigenetic Modulators 1
Time: Tuesday, April 21, 2026, 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM PDT

*Olverembatinib, APG-2449, and APG-5918 are currently under investigation and have not been approved by the U.S. FDA.

(Press release, Ascentage Pharma, MAR 17, 2026, View Source [SID1234663657])

On March 17, 2026 Zentalis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ZNTL), a clinical oncology innovator advancing late-stage development of investigational first-in-class WEE1 inhibitor azenosertib as a biomarker-driven treatment approach for ovarian cancer, reported two poster presentations at the 2026 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) Annual Meeting, taking place April 17-22, 2026, in San Diego, CA.

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"We are excited to highlight the potential to expand the opportunity for azenosertib as a combination therapy with cytotoxic agents, including antibody drug conjugates (ADC) and chemotherapy, for Triple-Negative Breast Cancer, a subtype of breast cancer with elevated Cyclin E1 expression. These data support clinical study of azenosertib in tumor types beyond ovarian cancer," said Julie Eastland, Chief Executive Officer. "In addition, the Cyclin E1 biomarker findings in ovarian cancer based on real world data reinforce the high unmet need for this biomarker-selected patient population with poor prognosis. Our biomarker-driven strategy for azenosertib monotherapy in Cyclin E1-positive platinum-resistant ovarian cancer has potential to address this unmet need."

AACR poster presentation details are below:

Title: "WEE1 Inhibition as a Therapeutic Strategy in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Evaluating Single Agent and Combination Activity of Azenosertib in Preclinical Models"
Abstract Number: 2012
Date/Time: Monday, April 20, 2026, 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. PDT
Presenting Author: Alexandra Levy, MS

Title: "Real-World Treatment Patterns and Outcomes Reveal Distinct Clinical Trajectories of Patients with Cyclin E1-Positive Ovarian Cancer"
Abstract Number: 1708
Date/Time: Sunday, April 19, 2026, 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. PDT
Presenting Author: Jinkil Jeong, PhD

The posters can be accessed on the Supporting Publications page of the Zentalis website at the time of each presentation’s session.

About Azenosertib
Azenosertib is an investigational, potentially first-in-class, selective, and orally bioavailable inhibitor of WEE1 currently being evaluated in clinical studies in ovarian cancer and additional tumor types. WEE1 acts as a master regulator of the G1-S and G2-M cell cycle checkpoints, through negative regulation of both CDK1 and CDK2, to prevent replication of cells with damaged DNA. By inhibiting WEE1, azenosertib enables cell cycle progression, despite high levels of DNA damage, thereby resulting in the accumulation of DNA damage and leading to mitotic catastrophe and cancer cell death.

Azenosertib is in late-stage development as a potential treatment for Cyclin E1-positive platinum-resistant ovarian cancer (PROC). There is currently no approved treatment option specifically for this biomarker-selected population which comprises approximately 50% of PROC patients. Cyclin E1 protein overexpression has been established as a sensitive and specific predictive biomarker for identifying patients who could potentially derive benefit from azenosertib treatment.

(Press release, Zentalis Pharmaceuticals, MAR 17, 2026, View Source [SID1234663673])

On March 17, 2026 Can-Fite BioPharma Ltd. (NYSE American: CANF) (TASE:CANF), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a pipeline of proprietary small molecule drugs targeting oncological and inflammatory diseases, reported that the Israeli Patent Office has allowed its patent application No. 284463, titled "An A3 Adenosine Receptor Ligand for Use for Achieving a Fat Loss Effect." The allowed patent covers the use of A3 adenosine receptor (A3AR) agonists, including the Company’s lead drug candidate Namodenoson, for inducing fat loss and treating obesity and related metabolic disorders.

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This allowance represents a key addition to Can-Fite’s expanding global intellectual property portfolio around Namodenoson’s anti-obesity activity and follows similar patent advancements in other major jurisdictions including the US, Canada and Australia, strengthening the Company’s worldwide protection strategy. Recently the technology granted scientific recognition upon coming up with a breakthrough publication of peer-reviewed study in the International Journal of Obesity, demonstrating the anti-obesity effect of namodenoson (View Source ).

The global obesity therapeutics market is experiencing rapid growth, driven by increasing prevalence and the success of GLP-1 receptor agonists. However, current treatments are often associated with limitations including gastrointestinal side effects and high cost. Namodenoson, a highly selective A3AR agonist, offers a differentiated mechanism of action, targeting key pathways involved in adipogenesis, inflammation, and metabolic regulation. Preclinical and clinical studies have demonstrated its potential to reduce fat accumulation and improve metabolic profiles, positioning it as a promising candidate in the expanding obesity treatment landscape.

"With the allowance of this patent in Israel, we continue to build and strengthen our intellectual property portfolio around Namodenoson’s anti-obesity activity," said Dr. Pnina Fishman, Chairperson and Chief Scientific Officer of Can-Fite. "Given the significant unmet need and rapid growth of the obesity market, we believe Namodenoson’s unique mechanism and established safety profile position it as an attractive candidate for development and potential partnering opportunities."

The global obesity treatment market is projected to reach $60.5 billion by 2030, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 22%, driven by increasing disease prevalence and demand for safe, effective oral therapies.

About Namodenoson

Namodenoson is a small orally bioavailable drug that binds with high affinity and selectivity to the A3 adenosine receptor (A3AR). Namodenoson is currently being evaluated in a pivotal Phase III trial for advanced liver cancer, a Phase IIb trial for the treatment of Metabolic Dysfunction-associated Steatohepatitis (MASH), and in a Phase IIa study in pancreatic cancer. A3AR is highly expressed in diseased cells whereas low expression is found in normal cells. This differential expression may be one of the important factors that accounts for the excellent safety profile of the drug.

(Press release, Can-Fite BioPharma, MAR 17, 2026, View Source [SID1234663609])

On March 17, 2026 Cancer Research UK’s Centre for Drug Development (CDD) and NovalGen reported that the first patient has been dosed in a Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating NVG‑222, NovalGen’s next-generation self‑regulating T‑cell engager for the treatment of ROR1‑positive blood cancers.

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NVG‑222 is a bispecific T‑cell engager targeting ROR1 and CD3 and is the first therapeutic candidate to use NovalGen’s proprietary AutoRegulation technology, a key innovation designed to mitigate excessive immune activation and cytokine-mediated toxicities, while maintaining sustained T-cell function and reducing exhaustion associated with continuous stimulation.

The trial is sponsored and delivered by Cancer Research UK’s Centre for Drug Development and is led by Chief Investigator Will Townsend at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH), where the first patient received treatment. Cancer Research Horizons is managing the commercial partnership between NovalGen and Cancer Research UK.

The study is enrolling patients across the UK with ROR1‑positive blood cancers and uses an adaptive design to optimise dose, treatment and biomarker strategies. Dosing of the first patient marks an important step in translating AutoRegulated immune therapies from the laboratory into clinical testing.

Dr Lars Erwig, Director of the Centre for Drug Development at Cancer Research UK, said:

"Dosing the first patient is an important milestone for our collaboration with NovalGen. NVG‑222 reflects the kind of innovative, safety‑focused immunotherapy we aim to advance, and we’re proud to help bring this next‑generation treatment into the clinic."

Professor Amit Nathwani, Founder and CEO of NovalGen, said:

"The start of this Phase 1 trial is a defining moment for NovalGen and the patients we serve. With support from CRUK, we are moving towards a future of ‘intelligent’ biologics. Our AutoRegulation (AR) technology is designed to sense and respond to the biological environment in real-time, aiming to overcome the toxicity and

exhaustion hurdles that have historically limited T-cell based immunotherapies. NVG-222 marks the beginning of our mission to set a new standard for precision, potency and safety in next-generation immunotherapy."

Dr William Townsend, Consultant Haematologist at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said:

"This represents the start of the next chapter in the story of T-cell engaging strategies to treat blood cancers. It is exciting to be part of this Phase 1 clinical trial which shows the best of UK research and clinical trial delivery. I hope it will translate into tangible benefits for our patients."

(Press release, NovalGen, MAR 17, 2026, View Source [SID1234663625])

On March 17, 2026 Dalriada Drug Discovery ("Dalriada"), a partnered discovery organization supporting small-molecule programs from hit identification through lead optimization, and Topos Bio ("Topos"), an AI-native biotechnology company developing therapeutics for intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs), reported a research collaboration to accelerate experimental validation for IDP drug discovery using advanced protein mass spectrometry and proteomics.

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Under the collaboration, Topos will leverage Dalriada’s expertise and infrastructure in protein mass spectrometry and chemoproteomics to support discovery efforts against intrinsically disordered and conformationally dynamic targets, protein classes that often lack stable structure and are difficult to interrogate with conventional structure-based approaches.

Dalriada will apply a set of complementary MS- and proteomics-based methods to generate high-resolution data on protein–small molecule interactions in biologically relevant systems, including target engagement profiling, intact mass and peptide mapping analyses, covalent binding kinetics characterization, and mechanism-of-action proteomics. These approaches are designed to inform site-level engagement, selectivity, and pathway-level modulation to help guide iterative design and prioritization.

"IDP programs demand tight feedback loops between computational hypotheses and rigorous experimental measurement," said Dr. Diana Kraskouskaya, CEO of Dalriada Drug Discovery. "By combining advanced mass spectrometry and proteomics with our live-cell iCLASS platform, we can help provide decision-ready engagement and selectivity data earlier in discovery, especially for targets where traditional structural readouts are limited."

Ryan Zarcone, Co-Founder and CEO of Topos Bio, said: "High-quality experimental data are essential for contextualizing and refining AI-generated hypotheses in the challenging biology of intrinsically disordered proteins. Dalriada’s depth in protein mass spectrometry and chemoproteomics, together with the iCLASS platform, provides the molecular resolution and scale needed to support our programs."

Intrinsically disordered proteins are estimated to comprise approximately 30–40% of the human proteome and are implicated in numerous diseases, including neurodegeneration and cancer. Their structural flexibility and dynamic conformational ensembles make them difficult to interrogate using conventional structural biology alone, reinforcing the need for complementary MS- and proteomics-based approaches.

This collaboration reflects a shared commitment to integrating advanced computational modeling with high-resolution experimental biology to expand the druggable proteome and advance therapies for historically challenging targets.

(Press release, Dalriada Therapeutics, MAR 17, 2026, View Source [SID1234663642])