ROCKVILLE, Md. and HONG KONG, CHINA /PRNewswire – Ascentage Pharma, a global clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing apoptosis-targeted therapies for cancers and other diseases, today announced the presentation of preliminary data from its ongoing Phase 1 trials of its lead product candidate APG-1252, a novel Bcl-2/Bcl-xL dual inhibitor. The data will be presented by Dajun Yang, M.D., Ph.D., the Company’s Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, during the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) 18th Lung Cancer Targeted Therapies Meeting, held in Santa Monica, CA from February 21-24.
About APG-1252
APG-1252 is a highly potent investigational small molecule that selectively binds to and inhibits Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL proteins, both of which play pivotal roles in regulating programmed cell death, or apoptosis. APG-1252 is designed to overcome on-target toxicity of platelets that may occur during Bcl-xL inhibition, while maintaining strong anti-tumor potency. In preclinical studies, APG-1252 achieved complete and persistent tumor regression in multiple tumor xenograft models with a twice weekly or weekly dose schedule, including small cell lung cancer (SCLC), colon cancer, breast cancer and acute lymphoblastic leukemia. APG-1252 also demonstrated strong synergy with chemotherapeutic agents, indicating that it may have broad therapeutic potential for the treatment of human cancer as a single agent and in combination with other classes of anticancer drugs. APG-1252 is being investigated in Phase 1 clinical studies in patients with SCLC or other solid tumors.
About Ascentage Pharma
Ascentage Pharma is a globally-focused, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel small molecule therapies for cancers, hepatitis B and age-related diseases. Based on breakthrough technology from the University of Michigan, the Company’s expertise is in designing therapeutics that inhibit protein-protein interactions to restore apoptosis, or programmed cell death, in cancers. Ascentage has built a rich pipeline of six clinical candidates, including a novel, highly potent Bcl-2/Bcl-xL inhibitor, APG-1252, as well as candidates aimed at IAP and MDM2-p53 pathways, and next-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors. For more information, please visit www.ascentagepharma.com.