On June 12, 2020 Onconova Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: ONTX), a Phase 3 stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel products to treat cancer, with an initial focus on myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), reported updated aggregated baseline genomic data from HMA-failure patients screened for the INSPIRE trial were presented in an e-poster at the virtual 25th Annual EHA (Free EHA Whitepaper) Congress (Press release, Onconova, JUN 12, 2020, View Source [SID1234561035]).

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"There are more than 45 driver mutations that have been identified in higher-risk (HR) MDS patients. To our knowledge, this mutational analysis from the INSPIRE trial is among the largest such datasets to be collected," said Steven M. Fruchtman, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer.

The on-demand presentation will be available on the EHA (Free EHA Whitepaper) website as of Friday, June 12 at 8:30 a.m. CEST, and will be accessible until October 15, 2020.

Abstract #EP829. "Mutations in RAS Pathway Genes Correlate with Type of Failure to Azacitidine: Genomic Analysis at Randomization onto the Inspire Trial."

As an exploratory endpoint, bone marrow samples were collected at baseline, months 2, 4 and 6, and every 6 months thereafter, as well as at the end of treatment, for mutational analysis. Genomic DNA was extracted and deep sequencing of 295 genes will be performed on these samples following analysis of the primary endpoint. In total, 55 different mutations were identified at baseline, with the median number of mutations per patient at 3.

"RAS pathway mutations were observed more frequently in patients that progressed on HMA therapy than those that failed HMA therapy completely. Understanding the association between RAS mutations and prognoses in this MDS setting appears to be informative to the potential role of RAS-targeting agents such as rigosertib," said Richard C. Woodman, M.D., Chief Medical Officer.