Ph1b data support safety, predictable PK and adequate plasma exposure

BERGEN, Norway , Oct. 7, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- BerGenBio ASA (OSE: BGBIO), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel, selective AXL kinase inhibitors for severe unmet medical needs, announced today preliminary safety data from the Phase 1b portion of the BGBC016 study in first-line (1L) Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) patients.

The Phase 1b part of the study evaluated three escalating doses of BerGenBio's selective AXL inhibitor bemcentinib in combination with standard chemo-immunotherapy (CIT), doublet chemotherapy and pembrolizumab, Keytruda^®, for the 1L treatment of advanced/metastatic NSCLC patients. The primary endpoint was the assessment of the safety profile of the combination in NSCLC patients regardless of their STK11 mutational status.

Key conclusions include:

• All three selected doses demonstrated that the triplet combination is well tolerated with no new safety signals identified, supporting the further clinical development of bemcentinib and CIT in 1L NSCLC patients.
• No dose-related impact on electrocardiographic changes (QTc), a known class effect of tyrosine kinase inhibitors, was reported for bemcentinib during the observation period.
• Pharmacokinetic analyses confirmed adequate plasma exposure of bemcentinib, achieving levels consistent with that previously observed in responders in BerGenBio's BGBC008 study of bemcentinib and pembrolizumab in second-line NSCLC patients.

Martin Olin, Chief Executive Officer of BerGenBio, commented: "The data show that bemcentinib has a manageable safety profile and gives us increased confidence in continuing the BGBC016 clinical trial. The global trial is currently enrolling patients in Phase 2a targeting patients with a mutation in the STK11 gene, and we look forward to sharing the first preliminary data as they mature."  

Contacts 
Martin Olin CEO, BerGenBio ASA
ir@bergenbio.com

Rune Skeie, CFO, BerGenBio ASA
rune.skeie@bergenbio.com

Investor Relations / Media Relations 
Jan Lilleby
jl@lillebyfrisch.no

About STK11m NSCLC

Patients with STK11m NSCLC have a significantly poorer response to current therapies, including immune checkpoint inhibitors, when compared with patients with wild-type (non-mutated) STK11. AXL plays a significant role in the survival and spread of cancer and STK11m NSCLC patients have a high expression of AXL suggesting that AXL is an important target to prevent disease progression and resistance to existing therapies. Bemcentinib's selective inhibition of AXL has been shown to improve the response to immune checkpoint inhibition in STK11m patient-derived preclinical models and in early clinical studies. There are currently no targeted therapies available for the STK11m NSCLC patient population, which represents up to 20% of 1L NSCLC patients.

About BerGenBio ASA

BerGenBio is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing transformative drugs targeting AXL as a potential cornerstone of therapy for aggressive diseases, including cancer and severe respiratory infections. The Company is focused on its proprietary lead candidate, bemcentinib, a potentially first-in-class selective AXL inhibitor in development for STK11 mutated NSCLC and severe respiratory infections. BerGenBio is based in Bergen, Norway with a subsidiary in Oxford, UK. The company is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange (ticker: BGBIO). For more information, visit www.bergenbio.com

This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.

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