Genprex Reports Positive Preclinical Data for the Treatment of Some of the Most Resistant Metastatic Lung Cancers
November 19 2019 - 8:00AM
Business Wire
- Company’s TUSC2 gene therapy found to increase effectiveness of
anti-PD1 immunotherapy and anti-PD1 immunotherapy combined with
platinum chemotherapy in humanized mouse model
- TUSC2 in combination with anti-PD1 and chemotherapy resulted in
complete eradication of anti-PD1 resistant lung metastases
- Company’s Oncoprex™ immunogene therapy may improve on
first-line standard of care for lung cancer
Genprex, Inc. (“Genprex” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: GNPX), a
clinical-stage gene therapy company, reported that its
collaborators from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer
Center (“MD Anderson”) presented positive preclinical data for the
combination of TUSC2 immunogene therapy with an anti-PD1 antibody,
pembrolizumab, and for the combination of TUSC2 immunogene therapy,
pembrolizumab, and chemotherapy for the treatment of some of the
most resistant metastatic lung cancers, including the KRAS and LKB1
mutations, at the American Association of Cancer Research Tumor
Immunology and Immunotherapy Meeting 2019. The TUSC2 gene is a
tumor suppressor gene and is the active agent in Genprex’s
Oncoprex™ immunogene therapy.
The poster, entitled “Efficacy of Novel Immunogene-Combinations
for KRAS and LKB1 mutant NSCLC in a Humanized Mouse Model” shows
that TUSC2 confers sensitivity to checkpoint blockade for some of
the most resistant metastatic human cancers, including the KRAS and
LKB1 mutations, in mice with human immune cells (humanized mice)
with lung metastases. When TUSC2 was combined with anti-PD1
therapy, pembrolizumab, in humanized mice with KRAS and LKB1 lung
metastases, there was significantly increased antitumor activity
than when compared to either agent alone. This combination and
model also demonstrated TUSC2-related NK (Natural Killer) cell
activation. A significantly higher percentage of CD56+ NK and
CD56+CD59+ active NK cells, which are immune cells that have been
activated to kill cancer cells, were found in the mice that
received TUSC2 alone and in those that received the combination of
TUSC2 and pembrolizumab than in those that received pembrolizumab
alone.
The poster also shows that TUSC2 increases the effectiveness of
anti-PD1 checkpoint blockade combined with platinum chemotherapy in
humanized mice with lung metastases with KRAS and LKB1 mutations,
thus demonstrating that TUSC2 may improve on first-line standard
of care for lung cancer. The combination of TUSC2 with
pembrolizumab and carboplatin, a platinum chemotherapy, in
humanized mice with KRAS and LKB1 lung metastases resulted in
metastasis regression significantly greater than either TUSC2 alone
or pembrolizumab combined with carboplatin treatments. This model
showed significantly fewer or no visible tumor nodules after
treatment with the TUSC2 combination as compared with other groups,
and it showed strong antitumor efficacy. The combination of
TUSC2 with pembrolizumab and carboplatin resulted in complete
eradication of anti-PD1 resistant lung metastases in the humanized
mouse model.
“These data not only further support existing preclinical data
showing that Oncoprex immunogene therapy is synergistic with
anti-PD1 therapy, but they also offer new data demonstrating that
Oncoprex improves on the combination of anti-PD1 therapy and
chemotherapy, today’s first line standard of care for lung cancer,”
said Julien L. Pham, MD, MPH, President and Chief Operating Officer
of Genprex. “In a sophisticated humanized mouse model, the
combination of TUSC2 with pembrolizumab and carboplatin resulted in
complete eradication of anti-PD1 resistant lung metastases in some
of the most resistant cancer mutations. This is highly encouraging
and provides us with a strong indication that the combination could
lead to similar results in the clinic.”
The poster authors are Ismail M. Meraz, Mourad Majidi, Meng
Feng, RuPing Shao, Min Jin Ha, Jeffrey Morris, Elizabeth J. Shpall,
Jack A. Roth, all of MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX. Jack
A. Roth has ownership interest in and is a consultant/advisory
board member for Genprex, Inc.
The poster is available on Genprex’s website at genprex.com.
About Genprex, Inc.
Genprex, Inc. is a clinical stage gene therapy company
developing potentially life-changing technologies for cancer
patients based upon a unique proprietary technology platform.
Genprex’s platform technologies are designed to administer
cancer-fighting genes by encapsulating them into nanoscale hollow
spheres called nanovesicles, which are then administered
intravenously and taken up by tumor cells where they express
proteins that are missing or found in low quantities. The company’s
lead product candidate, Oncoprex™ immunogene therapy for non-small
cell lung cancer (NSCLC), has a multimodal mechanism of action
whereby it interrupts cell signaling pathways that cause
replication and proliferation of cancer cells, re-establishes
pathways for apoptosis, or programmed cell death, in cancer cells,
and modulates the immune response against cancer cells. Oncoprex
has also been shown to block mechanisms that create drug
resistance. For more information, please visit the company’s web
site at www.genprex.com or follow Genprex on Twitter, Facebook and
LinkedIn.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements contained in this press release regarding matters
that are not historical facts are “forward-looking statements”
within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995. Because such statements are subject to risks and
uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those
expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such
statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding
the effects of Oncoprex, or Oncoprex in combination with
immunotherapies, and Oncoprex combined with immunotherapies and
chemotherapies, on cancer. Risks that contribute to the uncertain
nature of the forward-looking statements include risks relating to
the effects of Oncoprex, alone and in combination with
immunotherapies and chemotherapies. Other risks and uncertainties
associated with Genprex and its lead product candidate Oncoprex are
described more fully under the caption “Risk Factors” and elsewhere
in our filings and reports with the United States Securities and
Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements contained in
this press release speak only as of the date on which they were
made. We undertake no obligation to update such statements to
reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the
date on which they were made.
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Genprex, Inc. (877) 774-GNPX (4679)
Investor Relations GNPX Investor Relations (877) 774-GNPX
(4679) ext. #2 investors@genprex.com
Media Contact Genprex Media Relations Kalyn Dabbs (877)
774-GNPX (4679) ext. #3 media@genprex.com
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