CTI: Study Shows Potential Synergistic Combination Of Pacritinib, EGFR Inhibitor

(RTTNews) - CTI BioPharma Corp. (CTIC) Monday announced the presentation of preclinical data demonstrating potential synergistic combination of Pacritinib and an epidermal growth factor receptor or EGFR inhibitor in targeting brain tumor initiating cells.

Pacritinib is an investigational oral kinase inhibitor with specificity for JAK2, FLT3, IRAK1 and CSF1R.

Brain tumor initiating cells or BTICs have cancer stem cell characteristics and are believed to be responsible for disease initiation and recurrence.

According to the firm, the current study demonstrates the potential for combination therapies with pacritinib to be a promising therapeutic avenue in GBM. The early phase findings also showed prolonged survival in an intracerebral BTIC xenograft preclinical model of human GBM when delivered in combination with temozolomide.

These findings were presented in an oral presentation during the 20th Annual Scientific Meeting and Education Day of the Society for Neuro-Oncology held November 19-22, 2015 in San Antonio, Texas.

The company noted that the combination of pacritinib with one of three different EGFR inhibitors (afatinib, lapatinib, erlotinib) each resulted in decreased BTIC viability.