On November 6, 2019 Geron Corporation (Nasdaq: GERN) reported that two abstracts related to imetelstat, the Company’s first-in-class telomerase inhibitor, have been accepted for presentation at the 61st American Society of Hematology (ASH) (Free ASH Whitepaper) Annual Meeting and Exposition to be held in Orlando, Florida from December 7-10, 2019 (Press release, Geron, NOV 6, 2019, View Source [SID1234550639]). The abstracts were published today on the ASH (Free ASH Whitepaper) website at www.hematology.org.
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Poster Presentations
Title: IMerge: A Study to Evaluate Imetelstat (GRN163L) in Transfusion-Dependent Subjects with IPSS Low or Intermediate-1 Risk Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS) That Is Relapsed/Refractory to Erythropoiesis-Stimulating Agent (ESA) Treatment (Abstract #4248)
Session Name: 637. Myelodysplastic Syndromes—Clinical Studies: Poster III
Session Date: Monday, December 9, 2019
Session Time: 6:00 p.m. ET – 8:00 p.m. ET
As of this year, ASH (Free ASH Whitepaper) has created a new category for abstract submissions called Trials in Progress. Abstracts for this category describe innovative clinical trials that have not reached their primary endpoint to provide opportunities for early engagement and collaboration amongst investigators, translational research, clinical and industry investigators, statisticians and regulators. The Phase 3 IMerge clinical trial will be presented as a poster in this new category, and the details of the trial design are described in the abstract.
Title: Combination Treatment with Imetelstat, a Telomerase Inhibitor, and Ruxolitinib Depletes Myelofibrosis Hematopoietic Stem Cells and Progenitor Cells (Abstract #2963)
Session Name: 635. Myeloproliferative Syndromes: Basic Science: Poster II
Session Date: Sunday, December 8, 2019
Session Time: 6:00 p.m. ET – 8:00 p.m. ET
The abstract reports results from early, nonclinical experiments on the potential effect of combining imetelstat and ruxolitinib on malignant myelofibrosis (MF) cells. The experiments explored the hypothesis that the combination of imetelstat and ruxolitinib might create a treatment regimen for MF that could be more efficacious than using either drug alone in reducing myelofibrosis hematopoietic stem cells and hematopoietic progenitor cells. In the experiments, the regimen of sequential treatment of ruxolitinib followed by imetelstat resulted in greater reductions in the MF hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells, compared to when either drug was used alone or simultaneously. In addition, the sequential treatment regimen did not affect normal hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. As stated in the abstract, these findings suggest that an additive inhibitory activity against malignant myelofibrosis hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells can be achieved using a sequential treatment regimen of ruxolitinib followed by imetelstat.
About Imetelstat
Imetelstat is a novel, first-in-class telomerase inhibitor exclusively owned by Geron and being developed in hematologic myeloid malignancies. Early clinical data suggest imetelstat may have disease-modifying activity through the suppression of malignant progenitor cell clone proliferation, which allows potential recovery of normal hematopoiesis. Ongoing clinical studies of imetelstat consist of IMerge, a Phase 2/3 trial in lower risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), and IMbark, a Phase 2 trial in Intermediate-2 or High-risk myelofibrosis (MF). Imetelstat has been granted Fast Track designation by the United States Food and Drug Administration for both the treatment of patients with non-del(5q) lower risk MDS who are refractory or resistant to an erythropoiesis-stimulating agent and for patients with Intermediate-2 or High-risk MF whose disease has relapsed after or is refractory to janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor treatment.