Abstract: INTRODUCTION: Asciminib is the first BCR-ABL1 inhibitor that potently inhibits kinase activity of the BCR-ABL1 oncoprotein by Specifically Targeting the ABL Myristoyl Pocket (STAMP). The primary analysis from ASCEMBL, a randomized, phase 3 trial, demonstrated that asciminib has superior efficacy and a better safety and tolerability profile than bosutinib (BOS) in patients (pts) with chronic myeloid leukemia in chronic phase (CML-CP) after ≥2 prior ATP-binding tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). The major molecular response (MMR) rate at wk 24 was 25.5% with asciminib vs 13.2% with BOS; the difference in MMR rates, after adjusting for major cytogenetic response status at baseline, was 12.2% (95% CI, 2.19-22.30; 2-sided P=.029). Grade ≥3 adverse events (AEs) were reported in 50.6% and 60.5% of pts receiving asciminib and BOS, respectively, and AEs leading to discontinuation in 5.8% and 21.1%, respectively. After a median follow-up of 19.2 months (or 7.5 months' additional follow-up since the primary analysis), we report updated efficacy and safety results from ASCEMBL. METHODS: Adults with CML-CP treated with ≥2 prior TKIs were randomized 2:1 to asciminib 40 mg twice daily (BID) or BOS 500 mg once daily (QD). Eligible pts must have experienced treatment failure (lack of efficacy) per 2013 European LeukemiaNet recommendations for second-line TKI therapy or intolerance of the most recent TKI at screening. Pts intolerant of their most recent TKI were eligible only if they had BCR-ABL1 on the International Scale & gt;0.1% at screening. Pts with known BOS-resistant T315I or V299L mutations were ineligible. The cutoff date for the current analysis was January 6, 2021. RESULTS: A total of 233 pts were randomized to receive either asciminib (n=157) or BOS (n=76). At cutoff, all randomized pts had completed their wk 48 visit or had discontinued earlier. Treatment was ongoing in 89 (56.7%) and 17 (22.4%) pts on asciminib and BOS, respectively; the most common reason for treatment discontinuation was lack of efficacy in 37 (23.6%) and 27 (35.5%) pts, respectively (Table 1). By wk 48, the cumulative incidence of MMR was 33.2% with asciminib and 18.6% with BOS, showing that the difference between the 2 treatment arms observed by wk 24 in the primary analysis was maintained with longer follow-up (Figure 1). The cumulative incidence of BCR-ABL1IS ≤1% by wk 48 in patients without this level of response at baseline was 50.8% with asciminib and 33.7% with BOS. The difference in deep molecular responses (MRs) favoring asciminib vs BOS persisted by wk 48: MR 4 (BCR-ABL1IS ≤0.01%) and MR 4.5 (BCR-ABL1IS ≤0.0032%) rates were 14.0% and 9.6% with asciminib and 6.6% and 2.6% with BOS, respectively. With a longer duration of exposure in the asciminib arm, the safety and tolerability profile in the current analysis remains similar to that at the primary analysis. Median duration of exposure was 67.1 wk (range, 0.1-162.1 wk) for asciminib and 29.7 wk (range, 1.0-149.3 wk) for BOS. By the cutoff date, 91.0% of pts on asciminib and 97.4% of pts on BOS reported ≥1 all-grade AE; 54.5% and 67.1% of pts, respectively, reported ≥1 grade ≥3 AE. No additional fatal events were reported since the primary analysis. Fewer pts in the asciminib (7.1%) than BOS (25.0%) arm experienced AEs leading to treatment discontinuation (Table 2). The most common AEs leading to treatment discontinuation included thrombocytopenia (3.2%) and neutropenia (2.6%) in the asciminib arm and increased alanine aminotransferase (5.3%) and neutropenia (3.9%) in the BOS arm. CONCLUSIONS: Resistant/intolerant CML-CP after 2 lines of TKI treatment remains BCR-ABL1 dependent. The novel STAMP inhibitor asciminib demonstrates continued superior efficacy and a limited adverse event profile; myelosuppression, while more prominent, appears to be early and disease related. Secondary resistance based on loss of MMR is rare. Overall, after a median follow-up of 19.2 months, the positive benefit-risk profile of asciminib vs BOS continues to support the use of asciminib as a new therapy in this heavily pretreated pt population. This study is sponsored by Novartis. Figure 1 Figure 1. Disclosures Mauro: Sun Pharma / SPARC: Research Funding; Pfizer: Consultancy; Bristol Myers Squibb: Consultancy, Research Funding; Novartis: Consultancy, Research Funding; Takeda: Consultancy. Minami: Takeda: Honoraria; CMIC: Research Funding; Astellas: Honoraria; Ono: Research Funding; Pfizer Japan Inc.: Honoraria; Novartis Pharma KK: Honoraria; Bristol-Myers Squibb Company: Honoraria. Rea: Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Incyte: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Pfizer: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Hochhaus: Novartis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Research Funding; Pfizer: Research Funding; Incyte: Research Funding. Lomaia: Novartis: Honoraria; Pfizer: Honoraria; BMS: Honoraria; Pharmstandard: Honoraria. Voloshin: Abbvie: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Astra Zeneca: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Pfizer: Consultancy; Biacad: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau. Turkina: Pharmstandart: Speakers Bureau; Novartis Pharma: Speakers Bureau; Bristol Myers Squibb: Speakers Bureau; Pfizer: Speakers Bureau. Kim: Novartis: Research Funding; BMS: Research Funding; Pfizer: Research Funding; ILYANG: Research Funding; Takeda: Research Funding. Apperley: Bristol Myers Squibb, Novartis: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Incyte, Pfizer: Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau. Cortes: Sun Pharma: Consultancy, Research Funding; Bristol Myers Squibb, Daiichi Sankyo, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Astellas, Novartis, Pfizer, Takeda, BioPath Holdings, Incyte: Consultancy, Research Funding; Bio-Path Holdings, Inc.: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Pfizer: Consultancy, Research Funding; Novartis: Consultancy, Research Funding; Takeda: Consultancy, Research Funding. Fogliatto: AstraZeneca: Speakers Bureau. Kim: Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Pfizer: Honoraria, Research Funding; Paladin: Honoraria, Research Funding; Bristol-Meier Squibb: Research Funding. le Coutre: Pfizer: Honoraria; Novartis: Honoraria; Incyte: Honoraria; Bristol Myers Squibb: Honoraria. Saussele: Novartis: Honoraria, Research Funding; BMS: Honoraria, Research Funding; Incyte: Honoraria, Research Funding; Pfizer: Honoraria; Roche: Honoraria. Hughes: Novartis: Honoraria, Research Funding; BMS: Honoraria, Research Funding; Incyte: Honoraria. Chaudhri: Abbvie: Honoraria; Novartis: Honoraria; Astra Zeneca: Honoraria. Chee: Novartis: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Garcia Gutierrez: Pfizer: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Incyte: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; BMS: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding. Sasaki: Daiichi-Sankyo: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Pfizer: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis: Consultancy, Research Funding. Kapoor: Novartis: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Allepuz: Novartis: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Quenet: Novartis: Current Employment. Bédoucha: Novartis: Current Employment. Boquimpani: Pinth Pharma: Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau; Jansen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau.

Abstract: Patients with chronic myeloid leukemia in chronic phase (CML-CP) resistant/intolerant to ≥2 tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are at high risk of experiencing poor outcomes because of disease biology and inadequate efficacy and/or safety of current therapies. Asciminib, a first-in-class BCR-ABL1 inhibitor Specifically Targeting the ABL Myristoyl Pocket (STAMP), has the potential to overcome resistance/intolerance to approved TKIs. In this phase 3, open-label study, patients with CML-CP previously treated with ≥2 TKIs were randomized (2:1) to receive asciminib 40 mg twice daily vs bosutinib 500 mg once daily. Randomization was stratified by major cytogenetic response (MCyR) status at baseline. The primary objective was to compare the major molecular response (MMR) rate at week 24 for asciminib vs bosutinib. A total of 233 patients were randomized to asciminib (n = 157) or bosutinib (n = 76). Median follow-up was 14.9 months. The MMR rate at week 24 was 25.5% with asciminib and 13.2% with bosutinib. The difference in MMR rate between treatment arms, after adjusting for MCyR at baseline, was 12.2% (95% confidence interval, 2.19-22.30; 2-sided P = .029). Fewer grade ≥3 adverse events (50.6% vs 60.5%) and adverse events leading to treatment discontinuation (5.8% vs 21.1%) occurred with asciminib than with bosutinib. The study showed a superior efficacy of asciminib compared with that of bosutinib, together with a favorable safety profile. These results support the use of asciminib as a new therapy in patients with CML-CP who are resistant/intolerant to ≥2 prior TKIs. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT03106779.

Abstract: Introduction: Asciminib, unlike all approved TKIs that bind to the ATP site of the BCR-ABL1 oncoprotein, is a first-in-class STAMP (Specifically Targeting the ABL Myristoyl Pocket) inhibitor with a new mechanism of action. BOS, an ATP-competitive TKI, has shown clinical efficacy in pts who received ≥2 TKIs and in newly diagnosed CML, in prospective clinical trials. We asked if asciminib could provide superior efficacy to BOS beyond 2nd line, based on the clinical activity of asciminib monotherapy in heavily pretreated pts with CML in a phase 1 study. Methods: Adults with CML-CP previously treated with ≥2 TKIs were randomized 2:1 to asciminib 40 mg twice daily (BID) or BOS 500 mg once daily (QD). Randomization was stratified by major cytogenetic response (MCyR; Ph+ metaphases ≤35%) status at baseline. Pts intolerant of their most recent TKI were eligible if they had BCR-ABL1IS & gt;0.1% at screening (19 pts with BCR-ABL1IS & lt;1% enrolled). Pts with treatment failure (per 2013 European LeukemiaNet recommendations) on BOS are permitted to switch to asciminib per investigator judgement. Pts with known bosutinib-resistant T315I or V299L mutations were excluded. The primary endpoint was major molecular response (MMR) rate at 24 wks. We report primary efficacy and safety results from ASCEMBL (cutoff: May 25, 2020). Results: A total of 233 pts with CML-CP was randomized to receive asciminib 40 mg BID (n=157) or BOS 500 mg QD (n=76). Fewer pts on asciminib discontinued their last TKI due to lack of efficacy and fewer received ≥3 prior lines of TKI therapy (Table 1). At cutoff, treatment was ongoing in 97 (61.8%) and 23 (30.3%) pts, respectively; the most common reason for treatment discontinuation was lack of efficacy (asciminib, 33 [21.0%] pts; BOS, 24 [31.6%] ) (Table 1). Lack of efficacy was most frequently BCR-ABL1 & gt;10% or Ph+ & gt;65% after 6 months of therapy (asciminib 10.8%, BOS 25.0%). Among the 24 pts who discontinued BOS due to lack of efficacy, 22 switched to asciminib. At baseline, ≥1 BCR-ABL1 mutation was present in 12.7% pts on asciminib (most common: F359C/V) and 17.1% on BOS (most common: M244V, F317L). Median duration of follow-up was 14.9 months from randomization to cutoff. Median duration of exposure was 43.4 wks (range, 0.1-129.9) for asciminib and 29.2 wks (range, 1.0-117.0) for BOS; median relative dose intensity was 99.7% (87-100) and 95.4% (74-100). MMR rate at 24 wks was 25.5% with asciminib and 13.2% with BOS, meeting the primary objective. The between-arm common treatment difference for MMR at 24 wks, after adjustment for MCyR status at baseline, was 12.2% (95% CI, 2.19-22.3: 2-sided P=.029). Among those pts who achieved MMR, median time to MMR was 12.7 wks and 14.3 wks with asciminib and BOS, respectively. At 24 wks, more pts on asciminib (17 [10.8%] and 14 [8.9%] ) than on BOS (4 [5.3%] and 1 [1.3%] ) achieved deep molecular response (MR4 and MR4.5, respectively). CCyR rate at 24 wks was 40.8% with asciminib vs 24.2% with BOS. Preplanned subgroup analysis showed that the MMR rate at 24 wks was superior with asciminib than BOS across most major demographic and prognostic subgroups, including in pts who received ≥3 prior TKIs, in those who discontinued the prior TKI due to treatment failure, and regardless of baseline cytogenetic response (Figure). Grade ≥3 adverse events (AEs) occurred in 50.6% and 60.5% of pts receiving asciminib and BOS, respectively. The proportion of pts who discontinued treatment due to AEs was lower with asciminib (5.8%) than BOS (21.1%). Grade ≥3 AEs and AEs requiring dose interruption and/or adjustments were reported less frequently with asciminib than BOS (Table 2). Most frequent grade ≥3 AEs (occurring in & gt;10% of pts in any treatment arm) with asciminib vs BOS were thrombocytopenia (17.3%; 6.6%), neutropenia (14.7%; 11.8%), diarrhea (0%, 10.5%), and increased alanine aminotransferase (0.6%, 14.5%). On-treatment deaths occurred in 2 pts (1.3%) on asciminib (ischemic stroke and arterial embolism, 1 pt each) and 1 pt (1.3%) on BOS (septic shock). Conclusions: In this first controlled study comparing treatments for resistant/intolerant (R/I) pts with CML, asciminib, a first-in-class STAMP inhibitor, demonstrated statistically significant and clinically meaningful superiority in efficacy compared with BOS (primary objective), deeper MR rates, and a favorable safety profile. These results support the use of asciminib as a new treatment option in CML, particularly in R/I pts who received ≥2 prior TKIs. Disclosures Hochhaus: Novartis: Research Funding; Incyte: Research Funding; Pfizer: Research Funding; Bristol Myers Squibb: Research Funding. Boquimpani:Novartis: Speakers Bureau. Rea:BMS: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Pfizer: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Novartis: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Incyte: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Minami:Pfizer Japan Inc.: Honoraria; Takeda: Honoraria; Bristol-Myers Squibb Company: Honoraria; Novartis Pharma KK: Honoraria. Lomaia:Bristol Myers Squibb: Speakers Bureau; Pfizer: Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Speakers Bureau. Voloshin:Novartis: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau. Turkina:Pfizer: Honoraria; Novartis Pharma: Honoraria; BMS: Honoraria. Kim:Pfizer: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; BMS: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; ILYANG: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Takeda: Research Funding; Sun Pharma.: Research Funding. Apperley:Bristol Myers Squibb: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Incyte: Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Novartis: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Pfizer: Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau. Cortes:Pfizer: Consultancy, Research Funding; Novartis: Consultancy, Research Funding; BioPath Holdings: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Telios: Research Funding; Astellas: Research Funding; Amphivena Therapeutics: Research Funding; Arog: Research Funding; BiolineRx: Consultancy, Research Funding; Takeda: Consultancy, Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Research Funding; Daiichi Sankyo: Consultancy, Research Funding; Jazz Pharmaceuticals: Consultancy, Research Funding; Immunogen: Research Funding; Merus: Research Funding; Sun Pharma: Research Funding. Abdo:Novartis: Honoraria; Takeda: Honoraria. Kim:Paladin: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Pfizer: Honoraria; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Bristol Myers Squibb: Research Funding. le Coutre:Pfizer: Honoraria; Incyte: Honoraria; Novartis: Honoraria. Saussele:Novartis: Honoraria, Research Funding; Incyte: Honoraria, Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Honoraria, Research Funding; Pfizer: Honoraria. Hughes:BMS: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding; Novartis: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Research Funding. Chee:Novartis: Other: Travel support for attendance at investigator meeting. García Gutiérrez:Novartis Pharma AG: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: travel/accommodations/expenses, Research Funding; Pfizer: Honoraria, Other: travel/accommodations/expenses, Research Funding; Incyte: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: travel/accommodations/expenses, Research Funding. Sasaki:Pfizer Japan: Consultancy; Otsuka: Honoraria; Novartis: Consultancy, Research Funding; Daiichi Sankyo: Consultancy. Aimone:Novartis: Current Employment. Allepuz:Novartis: Current Employment. Quenet:Novartis: Current Employment. Bédoucha:Novartis: Current Employment. Mauro:Bristol-Myers Squibb: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel, Accommodation, Expenses, Research Funding; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel, Accommodation, Expenses, Research Funding; Takeda: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel, Accommodation, Expenses, Research Funding; Pfizer: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel, Accommodation, Expenses, Research Funding; Sun Pharma/SPARC: Research Funding.