Early stage data from Terns Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s lead candidate showed a large reduction in the number of leukemia cells in those with previously treated chronic myeloid leukemia. Results from the ongoing phase I Cardinal study of TERN-701, an oral, allosteric BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase inhibitor, were “unprecedented,” according to Terns.
Novartis AG’s financial update included good news about Scemblix (asciminib), the first and only U.S. FDA-approved allosteric inhibitor for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), which gained clearance in October 2021. The drug introduced a new mechanism of action by specifically targeting the ABL myristoyl pocket.
Immunoforge Co. Ltd.’s approval of an IND by the Korea Ministry of Food and Drug Safety reminded Wall Street – not that anybody needed reminding – about the marketplace jostle among therapies for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), where a number of drugs are cleared by the U.S. FDA but significant need remains in terms of efficacy as well as tolerability.
Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a myeloproliferative neoplasm characterized by a chromosomal translocation that results in the generation of the BCR-ABL1 oncogene, which encodes the chimeric BCR-ABL1 protein with tyrosine kinase activity. Allosteric tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) represent an improvement of 2-fold in efficacy over standard inhibitors and are better tolerated.