Trovagene’s combination of onvansertib with venetoclax in an AML cell model known to be resistant to venetoclax (Venclexta – AbbVie), showed synergy (the combined effect of the two drugs is greater than the sum of their individual effects) with a significant decrease in tumor cell viability.
Trovagene said that this data further supports its ongoing onvansertib clinical development program in patients with relapsed/refractory AML, for which there are limited treatment options and the prognosis is poor. Trovagene noted that it is currently conducting a Phase 1b/2 open-label clinical trial of onvansertib in combination with standard-of-care chemotherapy in patients with relapsed or refractory AML at nine sites across the U.S. and recently presented encouraging safety and preliminary efficacy data at the American Association for Clinical Research conference.
“We investigated the combination of onvansertib and venetoclax in a cell model, with known resistance to venetoclax, given that venetoclax as a single agent had previously shown a relatively low response rate of approximately 19% in relapsed/refractory AML,” said Dr. Mark Erlander, Chief Scientific Officer of Trovagene. “We believe the positive results of our preclinical study provides the scientific rationale for clinical investigation of this combination regimen and may lead to a new treatment option for these patients.”