On October 24, 2017 Asana BioSciences, LLC, an oncology focused, clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, reported that it will present updates regarding three of its lead molecules at the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper)-NCI-EORTC AACR-NCI-EORTC (Free AACR-NCI-EORTC Whitepaper) International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics (EORTC-NCI-AACR) (Free ASGCT Whitepaper) (Free EORTC-NCI-AACR Whitepaper) to be held in Philadelphia, PA, October 26-30, 2017 (Press release, Asana BioSciences, OCT 24, 2017, View Source [SID1234521148]).
Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:
Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing
Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!
“The presentations will highlight the well differentiated profile of our clinical and preclinical programs, including first disclosure on our next clinical candidate ASN007, a potent ERK1/2 inhibitor.”
Tweet this
“We are very pleased with the progress made in advancing our oncology portfolio,” said Sandeep Gupta, PhD, Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer at Asana BioSciences. “The presentations will highlight the well differentiated profile of our clinical and preclinical programs, including first disclosure on our next clinical candidate ASN007, a potent ERK1/2 inhibitor.”
The presentation details are as follows:
1. A Phase 1 PK/PD study of ASN003, a novel, highly selective BRAF and PI3K dual inhibitor, in patients with advanced solid tumors.
Authors: Drew Rasco1, Nehal Lakhani2, Ryan Sullivan3, Monica Mita4, Jaimini Shah5, Helena Usansky5, Sanjeeva Reddy5, Niranjan Rao5, Louis J. Denis5, Anthony Tolcher1, Keith Flaherty3. 1START San Antonio, San Antonio, TX; 2START Midwest, Grand Rapids, MI; 3Mass Gen Hosp CC, Boston, MA; 4Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA; 5Asana BioSciences.
Session: PO.B21 – Therapeutic Agents: Small-Molecule Kinase Inhibitors
Poster # B 147; Hall E
Date/Time: Sunday, October 29, 2017 at 12:30pm – 4:00pm EDT
2. ASN007, a novel oral ERK1/2 inhibitor, shows robust antitumor activity in RAS mutant cancer models.
Authors: Sanjeeva Reddy, Dhanalakshmi Sivanandhan, Purushottam Dewang, Niranjan Rao, Roger A. Smith and Scott Thompson.
Session: PO.B21 – Therapeutic Agents: Small-Molecule Kinase Inhibitors
Poster # B 150; Hall E
Date/Time: Sunday, October 29, 2017 at 12:30pm – 4:00pm EDT
3. ASN004, a novel 5T4-targeted Dolaflexin ADC, causes complete and durable tumor regressions in a variety of tumor xenograft models.
Authors: Roger A. Smith, David J. Zammit, Sanjeeva P. Reddy.
Session: PO.B19 – Therapeutic Agents: Biological
Poster # B 109; Hall E
Date/Time: Sunday, October 29, 2017 at 12:30pm – 4:00pm EDT
ASN003 is a potent and highly selective inhibitor of both B-RAF and PI3 kinases. RAS-RAF-MEK and PI3K-AKT-mTOR are two major pathways involved in tumor cell signaling and growth. Components of these pathways are frequently mutated in a broad range of tumors. Selective BRAF inhibitors induce dimerization of RAF proteins, leading to paradoxical activation of the RAF-MEK-ERK cascade. This activation is a major limitation for the clinical use of selective RAF inhibitors, as it leads to resistance and results in side effects in the skin limiting their use in patients with BRAF mutant tumors. In addition, elevated signaling through the PI3K/AKT pathway, with or without concomitant MAPK reactivation, represents an alternative path to resistance to BRAF inhibitors. Preclinical data with ASN003, demonstrates broad anti-proliferative activity in tumor cell lines and strong tumor growth inhibition in tumor xenograft models, including BRAF inhibitor resistant models. ASN003 is currently in Phase I clinical development in patients with advanced solid tumors, including melanoma, colorectal cancer and non-small cell lung cancer. ASN003 is well tolerated and shows the potential to be developed as a monotherapy or in combination with checkpoint inhibitors or standard of care.
ASN007 is a potent inhibitor of the extracellular-signal-regulated kinases, ERK1 and ERK2 (ERK1/2), key players in the RAS/RAF/MEK (MAPK) signaling pathway. This pathway is frequently hyper-activated in a wide range of cancers through mutations in upstream targets such as BRAF, RAS and receptor tyrosine kinases. Inhibition of ERK1/2 offers a promising therapeutic strategy for these cancers, particularly those driven by RAS mutations. ASN007 shows potent anti-proliferative activity in cancer lines that are selectively driven by the MAPK-pathway, including RAS mutant cell lines. Furthermore, ASN007 demonstrates strong inhibition of tumor growth in multiple BRAF and KRAS mutant patient-derived and cell line-derived xenograft models, including those that are resistant to BRAF and MEK inhibitors. The IND-submission is planned to evaluate safety and efficacy in patients with advanced solid tumors, including BRAF and KRAS mutant cancers.
ASN004 is an Antibody Drug Conjugate (ADC) that targets the 5T4 oncofetal antigen that is expressed in a wide range of malignant tumors, while very limited expression is found in normal tissues. ASN004 demonstrates robust antitumor activity leading to complete tumor regressions in multiple human tumor xenograft models with no development of resistance to ASN004 treatment. The IND-enabling program for ASN004 is near completion and a First-in-Human Phase 1 trial is being planned in 2018.