SAN DIEGO – In an ongoing phase 1 study, the oral FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3
The dose escalation/expansion study coupled the oral agent with induction and consolidation chemotherapy and was aimed at establishing the dosing and safety of gilteritinib.
The findings – reported at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology – mean that the FLT3 inhibitor will next be compared with the current standard of care, which has a 60%-65% remission rate, according to Keith W. Pratz, MD, of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.
“The later-phase clinical studies that we will be doing with gilteritinib will look to compare midostaurin-based chemotherapy with gilteritinib and looking for outcomes, with hopes of improving upon this 60%-65% remission rate,” Dr. Pratz said in a video interview.
Gilteritinib was recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration for relapsed/refractory AML patients with FLT3 mutations.
Dr. Pratz said the approval will provide a needed new treatment option in that patient population, which has had a low response rate to conventional therapy, in the range of 10%-15%.
“There really wasn’t a standard approved therapy prior to this and this will be what is given to most patients who have a FLT3 mutation and relapse,” he said.
Dr. Pratz reported consultancy and research funding from Astellas, which markets gilteritinib, as well as other companies.