About Uproleselan (GMI-1271)
Discovered and developed by GlycoMimetics, uproleselan and GMI-1687 are investigational, first-in-class, targeted inhibitors of E-selectin. Uproleselan (yoo’ pro le’ sel an), currently in a comprehensive Phase 3 development program in AML, has received Breakthrough Therapy Designation from the U.S. FDA for the treatment of adult AML patients with relapsed or refractory disease. Uproleselan is designed to block E-selectin (an adhesion molecule on cells in the bone marrow) from binding with blood cancer cells as a targeted approach to disrupting well-established mechanisms of leukemic cell resistance within the bone marrow microenvironment. In a Phase 1/2 clinical trial, uproleselan was evaluated in both newly diagnosed elderly and relapsed or refractory patients with AML. In both populations, patients treated with uproleselan together with standard chemotherapy achieved better-than-expected remission rates and overall survival compared to historical controls, which have been derived from results from third-party clinical trials evaluating standard chemotherapy, as well as lower-than-expected induction-related mortality rates. Treatment in these patient populations was generally well-tolerated, with fewer than expected adverse effects.
About GMI-1687
GMI-1687 is a rationally designed, innovative antagonist of E-selectin that is potentially suitable for subcutaneous (SC) administration. When given by SC injection in preclinical models, GMI-1687 has been observed to have equivalent activity to uproleselan, but at an approximately 1,000-fold lower dose. GlycoMimetics believes that GMI-1687 could be developed as a potential life-cycle expansion to broaden the clinical usefulness of an E-selectin antagonist to conditions, such as sickle cell disease crisis, where outpatient treatment may be preferred or required. GMI-1687 is currently undergoing IND-enabling studies.
About Rivipansel
Rivipansel, a glycomimetic drug candidate that binds to all three members of the selectin family (E-, P- and L-selectin), was GlycoMimetics’ first drug candidate to enter clinical development. After the Phase 3 RESET trial conducted by Pfizer, GlycoMimetics’ former collaborator, did not meet its primary or key secondary efficacy endpoints in 2019, new efficacy data from a post hoc analysis of rivipansel were published in June 2020 in advance of a presentation to occur at the Foundation for Sickle Cell Disease Research Meeting in September 2020. GlycoMimetics is committed to exploring a path forward for the use of rivipansel in treating acute VOC in SCD.
About GMI-1359
GMI-1359 is designed to simultaneously inhibit both E-selectin and CXCR4. E-selectin and CXCR4 are both adhesion molecules involved in tumor trafficking and metastatic spread. Preclinical studies indicate that targeting both E-selectin and CXCR4 with a single compound could improve efficacy in the treatment of cancers that involve the bone marrow such as AML and multiple myeloma or in solid tumors that metastasize to the bone, such as prostate cancer and breast cancer, as well as in osteosarcoma, a rare pediatric tumor. GMI-1359 has completed a Phase 1 clinical trial in healthy volunteers. The Duke University Phase 1b clinical study in breast cancer patients is designed to enable investigators to identify an effective