Expansion of Collaboration Enables Identification of Optimal
Patient Profiles and Combination Strategies for APTO-253
SAN DIEGO, CA
AND TORONTO, ON; PORTLAND, OR AND WHITE PLAINS, NY, Sept.
29, 2014 /PRNewswire/ - Aptose Biosciences Inc. (TSX: APS),
a clinical-stage company developing new therapeutics and molecular
diagnostics that target the underlying mechanisms of cancer, the
Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health & Science University
(OHSU) and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) today
announced that Aptose has joined the Beat AML collaboration. Beat
AML is a groundbreaking research initiative that includes industry
and academic collaborators led by top scientists within the Knight
Cancer Institute in collaboration with The Leukemia & Lymphoma
Society. Its goal is to accelerate development of potential
therapies for acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
Aptose's lead investigational anticancer
therapeutic APTO-253 will be profiled extensively against primary
cells from hundreds of AML patient samples collected by Beat AML
contributors. Under the agreement, Aptose and the Knight Cancer
Institute will collaborate on research related to APTO-253, which
is designed to provide further insights into the optimal genetic
profile of patients likely to benefit from APTO-253 therapy. The
research will also aim to identify promising combinations of
treatments that may further increase therapeutic efficacy.
APTO-253 is a clinical-stage small molecule that acts through
induction of the innate tumor suppressor gene Krüppel-like factor 4
(KLF4) and expression of the downstream cell cycle regulator,
p21. At the recent American Association for Cancer Research
(AACR) Annual Meeting, researchers reported that APTO-253 induces
cell death, or apoptosis, in AML cell lines, and synergizes with
various conventional therapies for AML and myelodysplastic
syndromes (MDS). Aptose is also developing a companion
diagnostic to select patients with positive genetic prognostic
factors to APTO-253, offering the potential for a personalized
medicine in AML.
The multi-institution Beat AML cancer research
initiative - designed to leverage the expertise of functional
genomic technologies and pharmaceutical collaborators − takes a
next-generation personalized medicine approach to vastly accelerate
research findings and ultimately improve outcomes for AML patients.
AML is a particularly devastating blood cancer with less than 25
percent of newly diagnosed patients surviving beyond five
years. It causes more than 10,000 deaths a year in the U.S.,
and treatment options largely have not changed in the past 30
years.
Brian Druker,
M.D., director of the Knight Cancer Institute, serves as the lead
investigator for Beat AML. Dr. Druker helped revolutionize cancer
treatment from non-specific chemotherapy to highly targeted
therapeutic agents with his work, in conjunction with Novartis, to
develop Gleevec®.
Jeffrey Tyner,
Ph.D., a top leukemia researcher with the Knight Cancer Institute
and an assistant professor of Cell, Developmental & Cancer
Biology at OHSU, leads the effort in assembling industry
collaborators that are part of Beat AML and integral to its ability
to discover new treatments.
"Through the Beat AML collaboration we are able
to simultaneously test the response of patients' leukemia cells to
different drugs and combinations of drugs. This dual process
applied to a broad selection of patient samples better equips us to
identify genetic drivers of the disease," Dr. Tyner said.
"This research design also enables us to better assess the
effectiveness of novel, targeted therapies based upon various
genetic profiles of patients with the disease. We will be applying
these insights to improve the odds of achieving long-term disease
remissions for patients."
"Phase Ib/II clinical trials are planned to
evaluate APTO-253 both as a single agent and as a key component of
combination therapy regimens", said William
G. Rice, Ph.D., Aptose's Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer. "By working with Dr. Tyner at the Knight Cancer Institute
and other leading researchers through the Beat AML initiative,
Aptose has the opportunity to gain invaluable data that will inform
the clinical development of APTO-253 and optimize its potential to
improve outcomes for patients with AML."
"Through the Beat AML initiative we are hoping to do for AML
patients what has been achieved with chronic myeloid leukemia -
take a blood cancer that was, with few exceptions, a death
sentence, and enable patients not only to survive, but to enjoy a
longer, richer quality of life," Louis J.
DeGennaro, Ph.D., LLS's president and chief executive
officer said. "LLS is focused on finding cures and ensuring access
to therapies for all blood cancer patients and our priority is to
employ the best science to help us address critical unmet medical
needs. We are extremely pleased to see Aptose join this
collaboration, and are hopeful that their compound will prove to be
an effective therapy in our quest to vastly improve outcomes for
patients with AML."
About the Beat AML Initiative
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and the
Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health & Science University
(OHSU) — joined by leading technology companies with advanced
computational analysis and genetic sequencing expertise, additional
medical institutions and industry collaborators — have launched
groundbreaking research to better understand acute myeloid leukemia
(AML). Led by researchers at the Knight Cancer Institute, the
Beat AML collaboration will collect samples from participating AML
patients treated at OHSU, Stanford
University, UT Southwestern Medical Center and Huntsman
Cancer Institute at the University of
Utah. Knight Cancer Institute researchers will conduct deep
genomic sequencing analyses on those samples to create a profile of
the possible genetic drivers of AML. As information is
gathered on potentially relevant mutations, researchers will also
test sensitivity of patients' leukemic cells to different targeted
therapies and novel combination regimens. The goal is to
eventually match patients with treatments that precisely target
their leukemia with combination therapies for durable remissions in
AML.
About The Leukemia & Lymphoma
Society
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society®
(LLS) is the world's largest voluntary health agency dedicated to
blood cancer. The LLS mission: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, multiple
myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their
families. LLS funds lifesaving blood cancer research around the
world, provides free information and support services, and is the
voice for all blood cancer patients seeking access to quality,
affordable, coordinated care.
Founded in 1949 and headquartered in
White Plains, NY, LLS has chapters
throughout the United States and
Canada. To learn more, visit
www.LLS.org. Patients should contact the Information Resource
Center at (800) 955-4572, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET.
About the Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon
Health & Science University
The Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health
& Science University (OHSU) is an international leader in
cancer research and precision treatment. Its director, Brian Druker, M.D., helped usher in the era of
precision cancer medicine with his discovery that cancer cells
could be shut down by disabling the molecules that drive their
growth without harming healthy cells. The Knight Cancer Institute
is the only National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center
between Sacramento and
Seattle and it serves as
headquarters for the NCI's SWOG collaborative, a research network
that conducts multidisciplinary clinical trials. The institute
continues to build upon its scientific and clinical leadership
through collaborations, such as Beat AML.
About Brian
Druker, M.D.
Brian Druker,
M.D., is director of the Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health & Science University,
associate dean for oncology in the OHSU School of Medicine,
JELD-WEN Chair of Leukemia Research at OHSU, and a Howard Hughes
Medical Institute investigator. Among his industry advisory roles
is serving as chair of the Aptose Biosciences Scientific Advisory
Board. To ensure the integrity of our research and as part of
our commitment to public transparency, OHSU actively regulates,
tracks and manages relationships that our researchers may hold with
entities outside of OHSU. Review details of OHSU's conflict of
interest program to find out more about how we manage these
business relationships.
About Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a cancer derived
from myeloid progenitor or stem cells that typically mature into
red blood cells, white blood cells or platelets. AML
initiates in the bone marrow when stem or progenitor cells lose
cell cycle control, anti-apoptotic factors or other means to limit
rampant proliferation. Leukemic cells have the ability to
rapidly spread from the marrow to the bloodstream. Further,
these rapidly proliferating cells quickly crowd out normal cells as
they infiltrate other organs and tissue systems.
AML is the most common type of acute leukemia
among adults, causing more than 10,000 deaths each year in the
U.S. It is a particularly devastating blood cancer, with less
than 25 percent of newly diagnosed patients surviving beyond five
years.
About Aptose Biosciences
Aptose Biosciences (formerly Lorus Therapeutics
Inc.) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company committed to
discovering and developing personalized therapies addressing unmet
medical needs in oncology. Aptose is advancing new
therapeutics focused on novel cellular targets on the leading edge
of cancer research coupled with companion diagnostics to identify
the optimal patient population for its products. Aptose's
lead anticancer agent APTO-253 is in clinical development and has
exhibited additive or synergistic efficacy with existing
anti-cancer therapies and regimens without overlapping
toxicities.
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SOURCE Aptose Biosciences Inc.
