The U.S. FDA has removed the partial clinical hold it placed in April 2022, prompted by a patient’s death, on Curis Inc.’s phase I/IIa study of emavusertib in treating leukemia. The company also said it just raised $15 million to keep everything going.
It has been previously demonstrated that the WNT gene/protein family member WNT5A is down-regulated in leukemia, and low expression of this tumor suppressor has been correlated with disease progression and poor prognosis. In a recent study, researchers from Universidade Estadual de Campina aimed to assess the role of WNT5A in leukemia and evaluate the effects of Foxy-5, (Wntresearch AB) a WNT5A-mimicking compound, on the progression of this disease.
Researchers from China Pharmaceutical University have reported the discovery of novel orally bioavailable fms-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) inhibitors as potential candidates for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Synthesis and optimization of a novel series of FLT3 inhibitors led to the identification of LT-540-717 as the lead candidate.
Later this year, Mendus AB plans to move its allogeneic cell-based cancer vaccine, vididencel, into a phase II combination trial with oral azacitidine to evaluate the regimen’s potential as a maintenance therapy in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
Chia Tai Tianqing Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd. has identified proteolysis targeting chimeras (PROTACs) comprising cereblon (CRBN) ligands coupled to a Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) targeting moiety via linker and thus acting as BTK degradation inducers.
Part of the reason for CAR T cells’ astonishing success in B-cell cancers is that B cells are astonishingly easy to replace. CAR T cells are specific, yes. But they are not specific to tumor cells. They are specific to their target antigens. In the case of Yescarta (axicabtagene ciloleucel, Gilead Sciences Inc.) and Kymriah (tisagenlecleucel, Novartis AG), the first two clinically approved T cells, that target is CD19, which is expressed on B-cell precursors. And when it is successful, the treatment leaves patients without any B cells at all.
Researchers from City of Hope discussed preclinical data for CD33-targeted chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells being developed for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
.webp?height=488&t=1670008838&width=650 "Acute myeloid leukemia")