Tokyo, Japan and London, UK, 25 March 2019 – Sosei Group Corporation (“the Company”; TSE: 4565) notes that its partner AstraZeneca will present key data from its early-stage clinical and preclinical immuno-oncology (IO) pipeline at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting in Atlanta, USA (29 March to 3 April 2019).

Among its presentations at AACR, AstraZeneca will present Phase I and preclinical data from studies with AZD4635, a small molecule adenosine 2A receptor (A2AR) antagonist, as part of its exploration of the adenosine pathway, which is increasingly recognised as critical to tumour suppression and represents a new frontier within IO. The data demonstrate that AZD4635 prevents adenosine-mediated immunosuppression and that early clinical activity has been observed with AZD4635 monotherapy or in combination with durvalumab in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.

AZD4635 is a potent and selective, orally available, small molecule A2AR antagonist discovered by Sosei Heptares and exclusively licensed to AstraZeneca in 2015. The candidate is advancing through a clinical program as a single agent and in combination with durvalumab, AstraZeneca’s anti-PD-L1 antibody, in patients with solid tumours.

Details of the presentations are as follows:

Abstract #LB-192/10 – The A2AR antagonist AZD4635 prevents adenosine-mediated immunosuppression of CD103+ dendritic cells     

Barbon, CM, et al

Session LBPO.IM02 - Late-Breaking Research: Immunology 2

Tuesday 2 April, 8:00am - 12:00pm Eastern Standard Time (EST)

Abstract #CT026/21 – Evidence of Immune Activation in the first-in-human Phase 1a dose escalation study of the Adenosine 2a Receptor Antagonist, AZD4635, in patients with advanced solid tumors           

Merchant, MS, et al

Session PO.CT01 - Phase I Clinical Trials: Part 1

Sunday 31 March, 1:00pm - 5:00pm EST

–        ENDS  –