ALBERT

Description: Introduction: Asciminib, unlike all approved TKIs that bind to the ATP site of the BCR-ABL1 oncoprotein, is a first-in-class STAMP (Specifically Targeting the ABL Myristoyl Pocket) inhibitor with a new mechanism of action. BOS, an ATP-competitive TKI, has shown clinical efficacy in pts who received ≥2 TKIs and in newly diagnosed CML, in prospective clinical trials. We asked if asciminib could provide superior efficacy to BOS beyond 2nd line, based on the clinical activity of asciminib monotherapy in heavily pretreated pts with CML in a phase 1 study. Methods: Adults with CML-CP previously treated with ≥2 TKIs were randomized 2:1 to asciminib 40 mg twice daily (BID) or BOS 500 mg once daily (QD). Randomization was stratified by major cytogenetic response (MCyR; Ph+ metaphases ≤35%) status at baseline. Pts intolerant of their most recent TKI were eligible if they had BCR-ABL1IS 〉0.1% at screening (19 pts with BCR-ABL1IS 10% or Ph+ 〉65% after 6 months of therapy (asciminib 10.8%, BOS 25.0%). Among the 24 pts who discontinued BOS due to lack of efficacy, 22 switched to asciminib. At baseline, ≥1 BCR-ABL1 mutation was present in 12.7% pts on asciminib (most common: F359C/V) and 17.1% on BOS (most common: M244V, F317L). Median duration of follow-up was 14.9 months from randomization to cutoff. Median duration of exposure was 43.4 wks (range, 0.1-129.9) for asciminib and 29.2 wks (range, 1.0-117.0) for BOS; median relative dose intensity was 99.7% (87-100) and 95.4% (74-100). MMR rate at 24 wks was 25.5% with asciminib and 13.2% with BOS, meeting the primary objective. The between-arm common treatment difference for MMR at 24 wks, after adjustment for MCyR status at baseline, was 12.2% (95% CI, 2.19-22.3: 2-sided P=.029). Among those pts who achieved MMR, median time to MMR was 12.7 wks and 14.3 wks with asciminib and BOS, respectively. At 24 wks, more pts on asciminib (17 [10.8%] and 14 [8.9%]) than on BOS (4 [5.3%] and 1 [1.3%]) achieved deep molecular response (MR4 and MR4.5, respectively). CCyR rate at 24 wks was 40.8% with asciminib vs 24.2% with BOS. Preplanned subgroup analysis showed that the MMR rate at 24 wks was superior with asciminib than BOS across most major demographic and prognostic subgroups, including in pts who received ≥3 prior TKIs, in those who discontinued the prior TKI due to treatment failure, and regardless of baseline cytogenetic response (Figure). Grade ≥3 adverse events (AEs) occurred in 50.6% and 60.5% of pts receiving asciminib and BOS, respectively. The proportion of pts who discontinued treatment due to AEs was lower with asciminib (5.8%) than BOS (21.1%). Grade ≥3 AEs and AEs requiring dose interruption and/or adjustments were reported less frequently with asciminib than BOS (Table 2). Most frequent grade ≥3 AEs (occurring in 〉10% of pts in any treatment arm) with asciminib vs BOS were thrombocytopenia (17.3%; 6.6%), neutropenia (14.7%; 11.8%), diarrhea (0%, 10.5%), and increased alanine aminotransferase (0.6%, 14.5%). On-treatment deaths occurred in 2 pts (1.3%) on asciminib (ischemic stroke and arterial embolism, 1 pt each) and 1 pt (1.3%) on BOS (septic shock). Conclusions: In this first controlled study comparing treatments for resistant/intolerant (R/I) pts with CML, asciminib, a first-in-class STAMP inhibitor, demonstrated statistically significant and clinically meaningful superiority in efficacy compared with BOS (primary objective), deeper MR rates, and a favorable safety profile. These results support the use of asciminib as a new treatment option in CML, particularly in R/I pts who received ≥2 prior TKIs. Disclosures Hochhaus: Novartis: Research Funding; Incyte: Research Funding; Pfizer: Research Funding; Bristol Myers Squibb: Research Funding. Boquimpani:Novartis: Speakers Bureau. Rea:BMS: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Pfizer: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Incyte: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Minami:Pfizer Japan Inc.: Honoraria; Takeda: Honoraria; Bristol-Myers Squibb Company: Honoraria; Novartis Pharma KK: Honoraria. Lomaia:Bristol Myers Squibb: Speakers Bureau; Pfizer: Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau. Voloshin:Novartis: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau. Turkina:Pfizer: Honoraria; Novartis Pharma: Honoraria; BMS: Honoraria. Kim:Pfizer: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; BMS: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; ILYANG: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Takeda: Research Funding; Sun Pharma.: Research Funding. Apperley:Bristol Myers Squibb: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Incyte: Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Pfizer: Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau. Cortes:Pfizer: Consultancy, Research Funding; Novartis: Consultancy, Research Funding; BioPath Holdings: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Telios: Research Funding; Astellas: Research Funding; Amphivena Therapeutics: Research Funding; Arog: Research Funding; BiolineRx: Consultancy, Research Funding; Takeda: Consultancy, Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Research Funding; Daiichi Sankyo: Consultancy, Research Funding; Jazz Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy, Research Funding; Immunogen: Research Funding; Merus: Research Funding; Sun Pharma: Research Funding. Abdo:Novartis: Honoraria; Takeda: Honoraria. Kim:Paladin: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Pfizer: Honoraria; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Bristol Myers Squibb: Research Funding. le Coutre:Pfizer: Honoraria; Incyte: Honoraria; Novartis: Honoraria. Saussele:Novartis: Honoraria, Research Funding; Incyte: Honoraria, Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Honoraria, Research Funding; Pfizer: Honoraria. Hughes:BMS: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Novartis: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding. Chee:Novartis: Other: Travel support for attendance at investigator meeting. García Gutiérrez:Novartis Pharma AG: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: travel/accommodations/expenses, Research Funding; Pfizer: Honoraria, Other: travel/accommodations/expenses, Research Funding; Incyte: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: travel/accommodations/expenses, Research Funding. Sasaki:Pfizer Japan: Consultancy; Otsuka: Honoraria; Novartis: Consultancy, Research Funding; Daiichi Sankyo: Consultancy. Aimone:Novartis: Current Employment. Allepuz:Novartis: Current Employment. Quenet:Novartis: Current Employment. Bédoucha:Novartis: Current Employment. Mauro:Bristol-Myers Squibb: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel, Accommodation, Expenses, Research Funding; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel, Accommodation, Expenses, Research Funding; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel, Accommodation, Expenses, Research Funding; Pfizer: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel, Accommodation, Expenses, Research Funding; Sun Pharma/SPARC: Research Funding.

Description: Introduction: BOS is approved for patients (pts) with Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph+) CML resistant/intolerant to prior therapy and pts with newly diagnosed Ph+ CP CML. Approval of first-line BOS was based on the primary results from the phase 3 BFORE trial, which showed superior efficacy vs imatinib (IMA) in the modified intent-to-treat (ITT) population (pop; Ph+ with e13a2/e14a2 transcripts) after ≥12 mo of follow-up. We report the final efficacy and safety results from the BFORE trial after 5 y of follow-up. Methods: In the open-label BFORE trial (NCT02130557), 536 pts with newly diagnosed CP CML were randomized 1:1 to receive BOS (n=268) or IMA (n=268; 3 untreated), both at 400 mg once daily. Efficacy was assessed in the ITT pop (all randomized pts). Long-term secondary endpoints included duration of response (DOR), on-treatment event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS). Safety was assessed in the safety pop (all treated pts). This final analysis was based on an April 17, 2020 last pt last visit (June 12, 2020 database lock), 5 y (240 weeks) after the last enrolled pt. Results: At study completion in BOS and IMA arms, respectively, 59.7% and 57.4% were still on treatment, 86.6% and 86.2% completed 5 y on study. Median duration of treatment and time on study was 55.2 mo for pts receiving BOS or IMA; respective median (range) dose intensity was 394 (39-583) vs 400 (189-765) mg/d. Cumulative major molecular response (MMR) rate by 60 mo was higher with BOS vs IMA (73.9% vs 64.6%), as was cumulative molecular response (MR)4 (58.2% vs 48.1%) and MR4.5 rate (47.4% vs 36.6%; Table). Among evaluable pts, more pts in the BOS arm achieved BCR-ABL1 ≤10% at 3 months (Table); cumulative MMR by 60 mo was higher in pts with transcripts ≤10% vs 〉10% in both treatment arms (BOS, HR 2.67 [95% CI, 1.90-3.75]; IMA, HR 3.12 [2.19-4.45]). Pts in the BOS arm achieved responses earlier than pts in the IMA arm; cumulative incidence function for MMR, MR4 and MR4.5 was higher with BOS vs IMA (HR [95% CI]: MMR 1.34 [1.10-1.64], MR4 1.34 [1.07-1.69], MR4.5 1.41 [1.09-1.83]). Among responders, duration of MMR was similar for BOS and IMA (Table). Superior MRs with BOS vs IMA were consistent across Sokal risk groups, with the greatest difference seen in pts with high Sokal risk (Table). On-treatment transformations to accelerated/blast phase (AP/BP) occurred in 6 (AP 3; BP 3) BOS- and 7 (AP 6; BP 1) IMA-treated pts. No transformation occurred after the 24-mo follow-up. In all, 18 BOS- vs 25 IMA-treated pts had EFS events. There were no differences in EFS between treatment arms; cumulative incidence of on treatment progression/death at 60 mo was 6.7% for BOS vs 9.3% for IMA (Table). The 60-mo OS rates were similar (94.5% and 94.6%; Table); 14 BOS- and 14 IMA-treated pts died during the study period: 3 and 4 were CML-related, 0 and 1 were due to adverse events (AEs) related to study treatment. The most common reasons for permanent discontinuation were AEs (25.0% vs 12.5%) and lack of efficacy (4.9% vs 16.2%). Treatment-emergent AEs (TEAEs) occurred in 98.9% of pts in each arm; most common (〉30%) were diarrhea (75.0%), nausea (37.3%), thrombocytopenia (35.8%) and increased alanine aminotransferase (ALT; 33.6%) with BOS, and diarrhea (40.4%), nausea (42.3%) and muscle spasms (30.6%) with IMA. Most TEAEs occurred during the first year of treatment. Grade 3/4 TEAEs occurred in 73.5% of BOS- vs 57.0% of IMA-treated pts; most common (〉5%) were increased ALT (20.9%) and lipase (13.4%), thrombocytopenia (14.2%), increased aspartate aminotransferase (10.4%), diarrhea (9.0%) and neutropenia (7.5%) with BOS, and neutropenia (13.6%), thrombocytopenia (6.0%), anemia (5.7%) and increased lipase (5.7%) with IMA. No individual AE led to discontinuation in 〉5% of pts. The most frequent AEs leading to permanent treatment discontinuation were increased ALT (4.9%) with BOS vs thrombocytopenia (1.5%) with IMA; 1.5% vs 1.1% of pts discontinued due to diarrhea. Conclusions: At 5 y, first-line BOS continued to show superior efficacy vs IMA; BOS-treated pts achieved earlier and deeper molecular response. An improvement in MR with BOS was demonstrated across Sokal risk groups, with the greatest benefit vs IMA observed in Sokal high-risk pts. Long-term AEs were generally manageable, and consistent with previous reports and the known safety profiles of both drugs. These results confirm the use of BOS as a standard of care in pts with newly diagnosed CP CML. Disclosures Brümmendorf: Takeda: Consultancy; Janssen: Consultancy; Pfizer: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel, Accommodation, Expenses, Research Funding; Merck: Consultancy; Novartis: Consultancy, Other: travel, accommodation, expenses, Research Funding. Cortes:Astellas: Research Funding; Arog: Research Funding; Merus: Research Funding; Daiichi Sankyo: Consultancy, Research Funding; BioPath Holdings: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Takeda: Consultancy, Research Funding; Pfizer: Consultancy, Research Funding; Amphivena Therapeutics: Research Funding; Immunogen: Research Funding; Telios: Research Funding; BiolineRx: Consultancy, Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Research Funding; Jazz Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy, Research Funding; Sun Pharma: Research Funding; Novartis: Consultancy, Research Funding. Milojkovic:Incyte: Consultancy, Honoraria; Pfizer: Consultancy, Honoraria; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Consultancy, Honoraria. Gambacorti-Passerini:Pfizer: Honoraria, Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Consultancy. Clark:Pfizer: Honoraria, Research Funding; Novartis: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Jazz Pharmaceuticals: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Ariad/Incyte: Honoraria; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; AbbVie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. le Coutre:Incyte: Honoraria; Pfizer: Honoraria; Novartis: Honoraria. Garcia-Gutiérrez:Novartis: Consultancy, Other: Travel, Accommodation, Expenses, Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Consultancy, Other: Travel, Accommodation, Expenses, Research Funding; Pfizer: Consultancy, Other: Travel, Accommodation, Expenses, Research Funding; Incyte: Consultancy, Other: Travel, Accommodation, Expenses, Research Funding. Chuah:Novartis: Honoraria; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Honoraria, Research Funding; Pfizer: Other: Travel, Research Funding; Korea Otsuka Pharmaceutical: Honoraria. Kota:Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria; Pfizer: Consultancy, Honoraria; Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Takeda Pharmaceutical, Company Ltd, Cambridge, MA, USA: Honoraria; Ariad: Honoraria; Incyte: Honoraria; Xcenda: Honoraria. Lipton:BMS: Consultancy, Research Funding; Novartis: Consultancy, Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Honoraria; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Ariad: Consultancy, Research Funding; Pfizer: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding. Rousselot:Incyte: Consultancy, Research Funding; Takeda: Consultancy; Pfizer: Consultancy, Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Consultancy; Novartis: Consultancy. Mauro:Sun Pharma/SPARC: Research Funding; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel, Accommodation, Expenses, Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel, Accommodation, Expenses, Research Funding; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel, Accommodation, Expenses, Research Funding; Pfizer: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel, Accommodation, Expenses, Research Funding. Hochhaus:MSD: Research Funding; Takeda: Honoraria; Pfizer: Honoraria, Research Funding; Novartis: Honoraria, Research Funding; Incyte: Honoraria, Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Honoraria, Research Funding. Hurtado Monroy:Incyte: Consultancy; Pfizer: Consultancy. Leip:Pfizer: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Purcell:Pfizer: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Yver:Pfizer: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Viqueira:Pfizer: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Deininger:Gilead Sciences: Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding; Takeda: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Ariad: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other; SPARC: Research Funding; DisperSol: Consultancy; Pfizer: Honoraria, Other, Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other, Research Funding; Fusion Pharma: Consultancy; Blueprint Medicines Corporation: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: part of a study management committee, Research Funding; Leukemia & Lymphoma Society: Research Funding; Incyte: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other, Research Funding; Novartis: Consultancy, Other, Research Funding; Medscape: Consultancy; Sangamo: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Galena: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other.

Description: We present Biomedisa, a free and easy-to-use open-source online platform developed for semi-automatic segmentation of large volumetric images. The segmentation is based on a smart interpolation of sparsely pre-segmented slices taking into account the complete underlying image data. Biomedisa is particularly valuable when little a priori knowledge is available, e.g. for the dense annotation of the training data for a deep neural network. The platform is accessible through a web browser and requires no complex and tedious configuration of software and model parameters, thus addressing the needs of scientists without substantial computational expertise. We demonstrate that Biomedisa can drastically reduce both the time and human effort required to segment large images. It achieves a significant improvement over the conventional approach of densely pre-segmented slices with subsequent morphological interpolation as well as compared to segmentation tools that also consider the underlying image data. Biomedisa can be used for different 3D imaging modalities and various biomedical applications.

Description: Background: Data from the phase 2, single-arm ENESTfreedom study (NCT01784068) have demonstrated the feasibility of treatment-free remission (TFR) following front-line nilotinib (NIL) treatment, with substantial TFR rates being sustained over time among patients (pts) with chronic myeloid leukemia in chronic phase (CML-CP). Results for long-term outcomes after a 5-year follow-up are presented here. The current subanalysis evaluated the efficacy and safety of TFR after upfront treatment with NIL in older (≥65 years [yrs] at study entry) vs younger (

Description: Annexin-A1 (ANXA1) belongs to a class of highly homologous Ca2+-dependent phospholipid-binding proteins. Its structure consists of a core region composed of four homologous repeats arranged in a compact, hydrolysis-resistant structure and an N-terminal region with a Ca2+-dependent conformation. ANXA1 is involved in several processes, including cell proliferation, apoptosis, metastasis, and the inflammatory response. Therefore, the development of antibodies blocking selected regions on ANXA1 holds great potential for the development of novel therapeutics treating inflammatory and cancer diseases. Here, we report the interaction site between an ANXA1-specific antibody known to inhibit T cell activation without adverse cytotoxic effects and ANXA1 using amide hydrogen–deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS). For the epitope determination, we applied two bottom-up HDX-MS approaches with pepsin digestion in solution and immobilized on beads. Both strategies revealed the interaction region within domain III of ANXA1 in Ca2+-bound conformation. The antibody-binding region correlates with the hydrophobic binding pocket of the N-terminal domain formed in the absence of calcium. This study demonstrates that even cryptic and flexible binding regions can be studied by HDX-MS, allowing a fast and efficient determination of the binding sites of antibodies which will help to define a mode of action profile for their use in therapy.