PR Newswire
Rigel Highlights Initial Data from Ongoing Phase 1b Study Evaluating R289 in LR-MDS at the 66th ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition
PR Newswire
5 min read

In This Article:

  • R289 was generally well tolerated and demonstrated signs of preliminary clinical activity in elderly heavily pretreated LR-MDS patients

  • RBC-TI/HI-E responses occurred in 40% of evaluable TD patients receiving R289 doses ≥500 mg QD

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Dec. 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: RIGL), a commercial stage biotechnology company focused on hematologic disorders and cancer, today announced initial data from its ongoing Phase 1b study evaluating R2891, an oral prodrug of R835, a potent and selective dual inhibitor of IRAK1 and IRAK4, in patients with relapsed or refractory (R/R) lower-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (LR-MDS). The data is being presented today by Dr. Guillermo Garcia-Manero (Poster #: 4595) at the 66th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition being held December 7-10, in San Diego, California and virtually.

"Elderly patients with transfusion dependent LR-MDS have few effective treatment options. We are encouraged by the safety and tolerability profile demonstrated by R289 thus far, and by the first evidence of hematologic responses, namely transfusion independence, observed," said Lisa Rojkjaer, M.D, Rigel's chief medical officer. "The promising initial safety and efficacy data, together with the recent Fast Track designation from the FDA, underscores the potential of R289 as a new treatment option for these patients."

Rigel's open-label, Phase 1b study of R289 is enrolling patients with lower-risk MDS who are R/R to prior therapies (NCT05308264). The primary objective of the study is to assess the safety and tolerability of R289 with secondary objectives to assess preliminary efficacy of R289 and characterize its pharmacokinetic profile.

Key highlights from the interim data as of October 25, 2024, include:

  • 22 patients were enrolled. The median age was 76; the median number of prior therapies was 3 (range: 1-8); 73% and 77% of patients had received a hypomethylating agent or luspatercept, respectively; and 73% of patients were high transfusion burden (HTB) at baseline.

  • The median time on therapy was 4.6 months (range: 0.9-22.4 months). R289 was generally well-tolerated in this heavily pretreated LR-MDS patient population, the majority of whom were HTB. The most common treatment emergent adverse events (in ≥20% of patients) were diarrhea and fatigue (each n=6, 27%), and chills, nausea and pruritus (all n=5, 23%), which were all Grade 1/2. The most frequent Grade 3/4 adverse events (AEs) were anemia, platelet count decreased, pneumonia and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) increased (all n=2,9%). One patient discontinued study drug due to hyperuricemia (not drug related) and a second patient discontinued study due to Grade 3 aspartate aminotransferase (AST)/Grade 4 ALT increase (drug related).

  • R835 exposure increased with increasing R289 dose. At doses ≥500 mg QD (once daily), R835 plasma concentrations at steady state in some patients were ≥ those correlating with 50% or 90% lipopolysaccharide-induced cytokine inhibition previously observed in a healthy volunteer study.

  • For the 18 efficacy evaluable patients (≥1 dose of R289 with ≥1 efficacy assessment), hematologic responses occurred in 40% (4/10) of evaluable transfusion dependent patients receiving R289 doses ≥500 mg QD. Red blood cell (RBC)-transfusion independence (RBC-TI) ≥8 weeks was achieved by three patients (1 at 500 mg QD and 2 at 750 mg QD); two HTB patients achieved RBC-TI >24 weeks. The median duration of RBC-TI was 29 weeks (range 12.7-51.9 weeks).

  • One HTB patient receiving 500 mg QD achieved a minor hematologic improvement-erythroid (HI-E) response, with a 64% reduction in RBC transfusions compared to baseline.

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