NEWTOWN, PA — Onconova Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: ONTX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel products for patients with cancer, is set to present an abstract on its latest preclinical studies at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024 (AACR 2024) in San Diego, CA.
The studies, carried out by Onconova and its collaborators, further analyze the mechanism of rigosertib, one of the company’s two lead clinical programs. The other program is narazaciclib.
“We are pleased to present new preclinical studies that explore the molecular targets for rigosertib,” said Steven Fruchtman, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Onconova. “The studies provide additional perspective on the main cellular pathways impacted by rigosertib, including RAS-MAPK signaling and reactive oxygen species (ROS)-related proteins.”
The research also underscored rigosertib’s influence on the tumor microenvironment through the activation of inflammation–related targets, such as an NLRP3. The team used a specialized mass spectrometry assay, known as a Cellular Thermal Shift Assay or CETSA-MS, to identify these new targets.
In particular, the research highlighted target activity through RAS-MAPK signaling, ROS-mediation JNK activation, and tumor microenvironment reprogramming through NLRP3 activation. These findings may contribute to preclinical and clinical synergistic effects with checkpoint inhibitors.
“These results could be instrumental in designing clinical trials to address difficult-to-treat cancers,” Dr. Fruchtman noted. He added that the company hopes to leverage this translational science to guide the clinical program and potentially widen the use of rigosertib in combating challenging cancer cases.
The results of these studies will be presented during a session titled “Microenvironment, Immunity, and DNA Repair in Therapeutic Response” on Monday, April 8, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. PT. The poster’s title is “Rigosertib promotes anti-tumor activity of cancer cells via CETSA revealed novel targets and activates NLRP3-dependent inflammatory responses.”
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