Data on Bantam Pharmaceutical's Lead Drug, BTM-3566 Highlighted During Oral Session on Targeting Mitochondria Pathways in Lymphoid Cancers at the 63rd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Bantam Pharmaceutical, a drug discovery and development company targeting selective modulation of mitochondrial dynamics in cancer, announced that data on the activity and mechanism of BTM-3566, a novel, first-in-class oral compound that targets mitochondrial dynamics leading to cellular stress and tumor cell apoptosis, was presented in an oral session at the 63^rd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), virtually and in-person in Atlanta. BTM-3566 is currently being developed for the treatment of hematological malignancies including Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma (DLBCL).

The talk, entitled BTM-3566, a Novel Activator of the Mitochondrial Stress Response Promotes Robust Therapeutic Responses In Vitro and In Vivo in Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma, was selected by ASH as part of the session "Lymphoid Neoplasms: Targeting Mitochondrial Survival Pathways."  Data presented showed BTM-3566 to be a highly potent activator of mitochondrial integrated stress response (ISR), which is well-tolerated in the pre-clinical setting with favorable pharmacokinetics. BTM-3566 induces rapid cell death in lymphoma cell lines, particularly those from DLBCL patients. In vivo, BTM-3566 was highly active in all patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models of DLBCL, and induced complete tumor regression in six out of eight models including those harboring genomic alterations usually associated with poor prognosis. Regressions were observed in multiple models of double-hit DLBCL.

"DLBCL that has relapsed or is refractory to standard therapy continues to be a challenge and treatments are especially limited for patients who are not candidates for stem cell transplantation or who have failed CAR-T cell therapy," said Adrian Schwarzer, M.D., Ph.D., the presenting author and Resident at the Department of Hematology, Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation, Hannover Medical School in Hannover, Germany. "We are excited to see how BTM-3566 promoted complete tumor regression in vivo in mouse models with poor prognosis. We believe BTM-3566's mechanism of action potentially defines a new class of compounds that activate, and regulate, the mitochondrial protease OMA1."

 "We are encouraged by these strong results in pre-clinical studies, and pleased that ASH selected this research for inclusion in its oral session on mitochondrial survival pathways,"  said Michael Stocum, President and Chief Executive Officer, Bantam Pharmaceuticals. "Importantly, these findings support our IND application in early 2022 and initiating first-in-human clinical trials in the first half of 2022."

View the abstract online at: https://ash.confex.com/ash/2021/webprogram/Paper145637.html

Registered ASH attendees can view the presentation online at: https://annualmeeting.hematology.org/live-stream/23143862/605-Molecular-Pharmacology-and-Drug-Resistance-Lymphoid-Neoplasms-Targeting-Mitochondrial-Survival-Pathways 

About BTM-3566

BTM-3566 is an orally-available novel small molecule compound with broad anti-cancer activity in hematologic and solid tumors, initially focused on Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphomas (DLBCL). BTM-3566's anti-cancer mechanism of action is unique and differentiated from other therapeutics, disrupting mitochondrial function in tumor cells to induce apoptosis (cell death). An IND application for BTM-3566 in B-cell malignancies is being completed for submission in Q1 2022.

About Bantam Pharmaceutical

Bantam Pharmaceutical is a drug discovery and development company channeling the power of mitochondrial dynamics to address unmet needs in oncology. Using its unique expertise in mitochondrial cellular biology, Bantam is developing novel, first-in-class small molecule oral therapeutics for difficult-to-treat hematological and solid tumors. Bantam is currently pursuing an IND application for its lead candidate, BTM-3566, in B-cell malignancies. Learn more at https://bantampharma.com/.

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SOURCE Bantam Pharmaceutical, LLC