BergenBio said Tuesday that preclinical data strengthen bemcentinib’s potential in reversing tumour-mediated immunosuppression and therapy resistance, ina presentation by its academic collaborators at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2019.
Summary of results showed that downregulation of AXL via genetic engineering of pancreatic tumour models resulted in a more active immune microenvironment, prolonged survival and improved response to gemcitabine.
Furthermore, the pharmacological intervention with bemcentinib similarly achieves immune activation and potentiates the effect of gemcitabine in pancreatic models where AXL is present on tumour and stroma cells.
The data presented lend further support to BergenBio’s ongoing clinical proof-of-concept programme and planned late stage strategy evaluating bemcentinib’s potential as a monotherapy and in combination across several indications, the company said.