BERGEN, Norway, Nov. 9, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- BerGenBio ASA
(OSE:BGBIO), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing
novel, selective AXL inhibitors for severe unmet medical needs, is
pleased to announce that it will deliver an e-poster presentation
at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC)
36th Annual Meeting, taking place online from
10th-14th November 2021.
The e-poster presentation provides pre-clinical and clinical
data suggesting that bemcentinib restored response to anti-PD-1
treatments in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients harboring
STK11 mutations. STK11 is an important tumor suppressor gene
reported in some studies to confer immunotherapy resistance in
NSCLC. STK11 mutations are present in about 10-20% of NSCLC
patients.
In pre-clinical NSCLC mouse models harboring STK11 mutations,
sensitivity to PD-1 blockade was evaluated in the absence and
presence of bemcentinib. Systemic inhibition of AXL with
bemcentinib resulted in the expansion of tumor-associated T cells
and restored therapeutic response to anti-PD-1 check point
inhibition.
In parallel, data from BerGenBio's Phase II bemcentinib and
pembrolizumab combination study (BGBC008) in advanced NSCLC showed
that 3 of 3 evaluable patients with identified STK11 mutations
demonstrated objective clinical response / clinical benefit to the
combination of bemcentinib and pembrolizumab.
Martin Olin, Chief Executive
Officer at BerGenBio, commented: "While the data are limited,
they suggest a mechanism by which treatment with bemcentinib could
restore sensitivity to anti-PD-1 treatment in NSCLC patients
harboring STK11 mutations. Up to 20% of the NSCLC patient
population has been reported to harbor STK11 mutations representing
a large subgroup of NSCLC."
Mutations in the tumor suppressor STK11/LKB1 have in some
studies been reported as associated with negative predictive and
prognostic impact in NSCLC patients receiving anti-PD-1/PD-L1
treatments. STK11 mutant tumors are characterized by a suppressive
tumor micro-environment devoid of cytotoxic T cells. The study
hypothesized that targeting the receptor tyrosine kinase AXL, a
known driver of an innate immune suppressive microenvironment,
would restore sensitivity to PD-1 blockade in pre-clinical models
as well as in patients harboring STK11 mutated NSCLC.
Full abstracts are available on the SITC website here:
https://www.sitcancer.org/2021/home
Full details of the presentation are below.
Title: AXL
targeting with bemcentinib restores PD-1 blockade
sensitivity of STK11/LKB1 mutant NSCLC
through innate immune cell mediated expansion of
TCF1+ CD8 T
cells
Author: Rolf A. Brekken et al.
Session/Abstract ID: 602
The presentation will be made available on BerGenBio's website,
under 'Presentations'.
Contacts
Martin Olin
Chief Executive Officer, BerGenBio ASA
ir@bergenbio.com
Rune Skeie
Chief Financial Officer, BerGenBio ASA
rune.skeie@bergenbio.com
International Media Relations
Mary-Jane Elliott, Chris Welsh, Lucy
Featherstone
Consilium Strategic Communications
bergenbio@consilium-comms.com
+44 20 3709 5700
About BerGenBio ASA
BerGenBio is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused
on developing transformative drugs targeting AXL as a potential
cornerstone of therapy for aggressive diseases, including
immune-evasive, therapy resistant cancers. The company's
proprietary lead candidate, bemcentinib, is a potentially
first-in-class selective AXL inhibitor in a broad phase II clinical
development programme focused on combination and single agent
therapy in cancer and COVID-19. A first-in-class functional
blocking anti-AXL antibody, tilvestamab, is undergoing phase I
clinical testing. In parallel, BerGenBio is developing companion
diagnostic tests to potentially identify patient populations most
likely to benefit from AXL inhibition. This is expected to
facilitate more efficient registration trials supporting a
precision medicine-based commercialisation strategy.
BerGenBio is based in Bergen,
Norway with a subsidiary in Oxford, UK. The company is listed on the Oslo
Stock Exchange (ticker: BGBIO). For more information,
visit www.bergenbio.com
Forward looking statements
This announcement may contain forward-looking statements, which
as such are not historical facts, but are based upon various
assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further
assumptions. These assumptions are inherently subject to
significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other
important factors. Such risks, uncertainties, contingencies
and other important factors could cause actual events to differ
materially from the expectations expressed or implied in this
announcement by such forward-looking statements.
This information is subject to the disclosure requirements
pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading
Act.
This information was brought to you by Cision
http://news.cision.com
https://news.cision.com/bergenbio-asa/r/bergenbio-presents-pre-clinical-and-clinical-data-on-bemcentinib-in-stk11-positive-nsclc-at-sitc-ann,c3447616
The following files are available for download:
https://mb.cision.com/Main/15728/3447616/1493399.pdf
|
Release
|
View original
content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bergenbio-presents-pre-clinical-and-clinical-data-on-bemcentinib-in-stk11-positive-nsclc-at-sitc-annual-meeting-2021-301419794.html
SOURCE BerGenBio ASA