Genprex Inc (NASDAQ:GNPX) said Tuesday that preclinical data for its lead drug candidate REQORSA, its proprietary TUSC2 immunogene therapy, in non-small cell lung cancer (NSLC), will be featured in two presentations at the six-day virtual annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR 21), starting on April 9.
The preclinical data relates to the gene therapy company’s TUSC2 immunogene therapy (REQORSA) with chemotherapy and immunotherapies, as well as in combination with targeted therapies to overcome resistance to AstraZeneca’s Tagrisso (osimertinib), for the treatment of the NSCLC group of lung cancers.
“We look forward to the presentation of these data that highlight the potential of TUSC2 immunogene therapy to enhance chemo-immune combination treatments and overcome resistance to osimertinib in lung cancer, to an audience of the world’s leading cancer researchers,” Genprex CEO Rodney Varner said in a statement.
“As lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide, we remain keenly focused on initiating our Acclaim-1 and Acclaim-2 clinical trials to evaluate REQORSA, our proprietary TUSC2 immunogene therapy, in non-small cell lung cancer.”
Acclaim-1 is a Phase 1/2 combination clinical trial using REQORSA combined with AstraZeneca’s Tagrisso (osimertinib) in patients with late-stage NSCLC whose disease progressed after treatment with Tagrisso.
Acclaim-2 is a Phase 1/2 combination clinical trial using REQORSA combined with Merck & Company’s Keytruda (pembrolizumab) in NSCLC patients who are low expressors of PD-L1.
The Genprex-supported abstracts to be presented at AACR 2021 include an oral presentation on April 10 from 2:50 pm to 3:00 pm ET.
The company will also participate in a poster presentation on April 10 from 8:30 am - 11:59 pm ET.
Genprex’s lead product candidate REQORSA, which is being evaluated as a treatment for NSCLC, has a multimodal mechanism of action that has been shown to interrupt cell signaling pathways that cause replication and proliferation of cancer cells; re-establish pathways for apoptosis, or programmed cell death, in cancer cells; and modulate the immune response against cancer cells.
REQORSA has also been shown to block mechanisms that create drug resistance. In January 2020, the US Food and Drug Administration granted Fast Track Designation for REQORSA for NSCLC in combination therapy with AstraZeneca’s osimertinib for patients with EFGR mutations whose tumors progressed after treatment with osimertinib alone.
Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at uttara@proactiveinvestors.com
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