AB Science reports positive early data on leukemia drug combination

PARIS - AB Science SA (Euronext:AB), a $4.28 billion market cap biotechnology company with a "GREAT" financial health score according to InvestingPro, announced Tuesday that the first three patients treated with its experimental drug AB8939 in combination with venetoclax have shown positive responses in an ongoing Phase 1 trial for refractory or relapsed acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

The three patients, all with difficult-to-treat genetic profiles including TP53 mutations and complex karyotypes, achieved a 100% partial response rate after just 14 days of treatment. One patient reached complete remission. Notably, two of the patients had previously progressed on venetoclax in combination with other chemotherapies.

AB8939 is a drug candidate that targets cancer cells by destabilizing microtubules essential for cell division while also targeting cancer stem cells by inhibiting specific enzymes. The treatment combination has been well-tolerated with no hematological toxicity reported.

The company is now proceeding to evaluate a higher dose of AB8939 in combination with venetoclax in the next stage of the Phase 1 trial. Following this stage, AB Science plans to initiate an expansion phase in approximately 15 patients with poor prognosis AML to confirm these early findings before moving to a registration trial.

Nicholas J. Short, Associate Professor at MD Anderson Cancer Center, called the results "impressive, particularly in the two patients whose leukemia had progressed on venetoclax."

AB8939 has received orphan drug designation from both the European Medicines Agency and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for AML.

The company will hold a virtual conference on Thursday with AML experts to discuss these findings in greater detail, according to the press release statement. With the company’s next earnings report due on October 23 and two analysts recently revising earnings estimates upward, InvestingPro analysis suggests AB Science is currently trading below its Fair Value. For deeper insights into AB Science’s financial health and growth prospects, investors can access the comprehensive Pro Research Report, available exclusively to InvestingPro subscribers.

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