BioLineRx Ltd (BLRX)

[midastouch017]

BioLineRx's lead product candidate BL-8040 shows positive results in mid-stage study of difficult-to-treat leukemia patients; shares up 5% premarket
Sep 8 2016, 07:50 ET | About: BioLineRx Ltd. (BLRX) | By: Douglas W. House, SA News Editor

http://seekingalpha.com/news/3207579-biolinerxs-lead-product-candidate-blminus-8040-shows-positive-results-mid-stage-study?source=email_rt_mc_title&uprof=45

Nano cap BioLineRx (NASDAQ:BLRX) is up 5% premarket on increased volume in response to its announcement of results from a Phase 2a clinical trial assessing lead product candidate BL-8040 for the treatment of relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia (r/r AML). The data were presented yesterday at the 4th Annual Meeting of the Society of Hematologic Oncology in Houston, TX.The study evaluated BL-8040 as monotherapy and in combination with the chemo agent cytarabine. The reported data set was 45 treatment-resistant AML patients.For the combination therapy, the composite complete remission rate (complete remission + complete remission with incomplete blood count recovery) was 38% (n=15/39) in patients receiving two cycles of BL-8040 at 1 mg/kg or higher. The composite complete remission rate was 41% (n=9/22) in the expansion phase of the study at a dose of 1.5 mg/kg. Both rates were superior to the ~20% historical response rate observed with cytarabine alone. Two-thirds of the patients were still alive during the follow-up period of up to 12 months.BL-8040 is a synthetic peptide that binds to a protein found on the surface of cancer cells called CXCR4, a chemokine receptor that that plays a key role in tumor growth and survival. CXCR4 is overexpressed in more than 70% of human cancers and is associated with a poor prognosis.