Tasquinimod successfully completes dose optimization in patients with multiple myeloma and advances into the pre-planned expansion cohort

Lund Sweden, September 11, 2023 – Active Biotech (NASDAQ STOCKHOLM: ACTI) today announces the successful completion of the dose escalation of tasquinimod in combination with the orally administered antimyeloma agents ixazomib, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone (IRd) in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. 6 patients have been treated with increasing doses of tasquinimod in combination with IRd and the combination was well tolerated with no protocol-defined dose limiting toxicities. The optimal dose and the treatment schedule of tasquinimod, when used in combination with IRd in patients with multiple myeloma was established at 1 mg per day after a one-week run in of 0.5 mg daily. This is similar to the treatment schedule established for tasquinimod used in monotherapy in patients with multiple myeloma. At present, two patients are ongoing in the combination part of the study.

The study, which is conducted with Dr. Dan Vogl as principal investigator in a partnership with the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania, is now enrolling into an expansion cohort to further document the biological activity of tasquinimod+IRd in myeloma patients. The cohort will include patients previously refractory to commonly used anti-myeloma agents including proteasome inhibitors and immunomodulatory IMiDs to assess the preliminary efficacy of adding tasquinimod to the combination.

For more information about the study please visit clinicaltrials.gov (NCT04405167).

“With the optimal dose of the oral combination of tasquinimod and IRd established, I now look forward to expanding the study with additional patients to investigate further tasquinimod’s anti-myeloma effect. I remain enthusiastic about targeting the myeloma bone marrow microenvironment with tasquinimod to overcome therapeutic resistance to effective myeloma agents. Especially since we have a patient with a durable response from this combination who previously progressed on similar regimens and therefore was not expected to respond to IRd alone” says Dr. Dan Vogl, Principal Investigator.