GlycoMimetics : Compelling Data on Mechanism of Action for GlycoMimetics Late-stage Clinical Candidate Uproleselan Published in Nature Communications
May 01, 2020 at 06:34 am EDT
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ROCKVILLE - GlycoMimetics, Inc. (Nasdaq: GLYC) today announced that important new preclinical data on the mechanism of action for its late-stage clinical candidate, uproleselan, are published in the April 27, 2020, issue of Nature Communications.
The paper outlines how uproleselan, an investigational, first-in-class, targeted inhibitor of E-selectin, can reduce chemoresistance in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) through the key mechanism of targeted E-selectin inhibition.1
'This paper offers compelling data on the mechanism of action of uproleselan,' said John Magnani, Ph.D., GlycoMimetics Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer. 'AML cells that bind E-selectin become chemoresistant in protective niches in the bone marrow, eventually causing relapsed disease. This data demonstrates that, as a potent antagonist of E-selectin, uproleselan breaks this chemoresistance.'
Barbier et.al. explain in the manuscript how AML blasts release inflammatory cytokines that further enhance the expression of E-selectin. AML blasts that strongly express the E-selectin ligand (sialyl Lex), in particular, are 12 times more likely to survive chemotherapy, and this is a major cause of relapsed disease. By selectively inhibiting E-selectin, uproleselan disrupts this pro-survival pathway and prolongs survival when paired with chemotherapy in an animal model of AML.
About Uproleselan
Discovered and developed by GlycoMimetics, uproleselan and GMI-1687 are investigational, first-in-class, targeted inhibitors of E-selectin. Uproleselan (yoo' pro le' sel an), currently in a comprehensive Phase 3 development program in AML, has received Breakthrough Therapy Designation from the U.S. FDA for the treatment of adult AML patients with relapsed or refractory disease. Uproleselan is designed to block E-selectin (an adhesion molecule on cells in the bone marrow) from binding with blood cancer cells as a targeted approach to disrupting well-established mechanisms of leukemic cell resistance within the bone marrow microenvironment. In a Phase 1/2 clinical trial, uproleselan was evaluated in both newly diagnosed elderly and relapsed or refractory patients with AML. In both populations, patients treated with uproleselan together with standard chemotherapy achieved better-than-expected remission rates and overall survival compared to historical controls, which have been derived from results from third-party clinical trials evaluating standard chemotherapy, as well as lower-than-expected induction-related mortality rates. Treatment in these patient populations was generally well-tolerated, with fewer than expected adverse effects.
About GlycoMimetics, Inc.
GlycoMimetics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of novel glycomimetic drugs to address unmet medical needs resulting from diseases in which carbohydrate biology plays a key role. GlycoMimetics' wholly-owned drug candidate, uproleselan, an E-selectin antagonist, was evaluated in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial as a potential treatment for AML and is being evaluated across a range of patient populations including a Company-sponsored Phase 3 trial in relapsed/refractory AML. GlycoMimetics has also completed a Phase 1 clinical trial with another wholly-owned drug candidate, GMI-1359, a combined CXCR4 and E-selectin antagonist. GlycoMimetics is located in Rockville, MD in the BioHealth Capital Region.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding the clinical development and potential benefits and impact of the Company's drug candidates. Actual results may differ materially from those in these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release, and GlycoMimetics undertakes no obligation to update or revise these statements, except as may be required by law.
GlycoMimetics, Inc. is a late clinical-stage biotechnology company discovering and developing glycobiology-based therapies for cancers, including acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and for inflammatory diseases. It is developing a pipeline of glycomimetics, which are small molecules that mimic the structure of carbohydrates involved in biological processes, to inhibit disease-related functions of carbohydrates, such as the roles they play in inflammation, cancer and infection. Its drug candidates include Uproleselan, GMI-1687, Galectin Antagonists and GMI-1359. It is developing Uproleselan, a specific E-selectin antagonist, to be used in combination with chemotherapy to treat patients with AML, a life-threatening hematologic cancer, and potentially other hematologic cancers. It has designed an antagonist of E-selectin, GMI-1687, that is suitable for subcutaneous administration. GMI-1359 is a drug candidate that simultaneously targets both E-selectin and a chemokine receptor (CXCR4).
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