Aptose Biosciences Inc (APTO)

[dcaf7]

Not so shiny to me. Almost the same data was presented at ESH. And as I can see in ESH presentation, CRc rate for Tus/Ven doublet was 9/31 or 29% for all patients. At ASH, it is 9/36 or 25%. So, no new responses. It is kind of in line with our ASH expectations from Aptose. As for efficacy in different patient populations, Flt3 WT with Ven exposure doesn’t look good. CRc rate of 16% is low. Don’t think that FDA will be excited. On the other hand, for Flt3mut patients CRc rate is 30%. To me it means that in AML Tus is a Flt3 inhibitor in first place and other kinases inhibitor in second. My guess is they need to focus on Flt3mut patients with a doublet. Possibly, Flt3 WT population is OK but not for Ven R/R patients. And it is clear why their best option is to run a Tus/Ven/HMA triplet study in first line.