AstraZeneca accelerates early oncology pipeline across key strategic scientific platforms at AACR

Leadership in DNA damage response demonstrated in multiple presentations for AZD5305, a next-generation PARP1 selective inhibitor

AstraZeneca will share updates from the Company’s innovative early oncology pipeline across multiple strategic platforms during the virtual American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting, 10 to 15 April 2021.

Five presentations will unveil the next-generation PARP1 selective inhibitor AZD5305, underscoring AstraZeneca’s commitment to advancing therapies that selectively kill cancer cells by targeting the system that cells rely on to repair damage to DNA. Additionally, research across multiple presentations will highlight novel technologies that enable early detection of disease recurrence to inform earlier interventions for patients who are more likely to benefit from treatment.

In total, data from more than 40 presentations will showcase progress with the next wave of anticancer medicines, novel insights in targeting resistance to therapy, and approaches that are advancing the personalised treatment of cancer.

Susan Galbraith, Senior Vice President and Head of Research and Early Development, Oncology R&D, said: “Our data at AACR reflect a robust early-stage pipeline, poised to deliver life-changing medicines to patients living with cancer. Data for AZD5305 will demonstrate how the next wave of DNA damage response medicines can build on the success of PARP inhibitors, potentially allowing patients to stay on treatment longer. This innovative molecule is designed to optimise the therapeutic window of PARP inhibition, providing new opportunities for combination treatment with chemotherapy and targeted medicines.”

The Company will share a Spotlight Theater Presentation: The Orchestrated Immune Response: Dynamic Forces Guiding Cancer Immunity, introducing a novel framework for understanding the role of the immune system in cancer, with the potential to reshape the way scientists develop medicines to counteract tumour growth.

AstraZeneca leaders will also participate in two educational symposia:

• DNA Damage Response (DDR) Treatment: Evolving Diagnostic Approaches, Understanding of Replication Stress, and Resistance Mechanisms to DDR Targeting Therapies (Session #ADT04), with a discussion on targeting the replication stress response, which occurs when the genome is exposed to stresses that impede DNA replication.
• Advances in Drug Delivery (Session #ADT08), with a discussion on the advances and innovations fueling the development of the next generation of antibody drug conjugates.

Key presentations will include:

• Structural disclosure and key preclinical data for AZD5305, a next-generation PARP1 selective inhibitor
• The introduction of AZD8853, a novel antibody targeting GDF15 for tumours refractory to immunotherapy treatment
• Research from the HUDSON Phase II trial using deep learning algorithms on pathological images to identify features associated with progression on immunotherapy for patients with non-small cell lung cancer
• A pooled analysis of interstitial lung disease data in patients treated with Enhertu across eight cancer trials
• Two presentations from genome-wide CRISPR screenings that identify signalling in the Hippo pathway as an important driver of resistance in EGFR-mutated lung cancer and BRAF-mutated colon cancer
• Data identifying a novel immunosuppressive myeloid gene signature for clinical biomarker development
• Results from the ATRiUM Phase I trial, externally sponsored scientific research evaluating ceralasertib, an ATR inhibitor, and gemcitabine as combination therapy in biliary tract cancer