Reality crashes in for Syros

Late last year Syros finally got some decent-looking data with its retinoic acid receptor alpha (RARα) agonist tamibarotene – but now the group has discontinued the same trial following disappointing updated results. The study, Select-AML-1, was testing tamibarotene, Venclexta and azacitidine, versus Venclexta/azacitidine in first-line unfit AML patients with RARA gene overexpression, thought to account for 30% of AML. Last December Syros reported a CR/CRi rate of 100% in nine patients receiving the triplet; this dropped to 65% among 20 patients, an interim analysis revealed yesterday – numerically worse than the 70% among 20 subjects on the doublet. Syros concluded that the chances were low of demonstrating superiority at the final analysis of 80 patients, so canned the trial. Full data are due in September at the Society of Hematologic Oncology conference in Houston, so perhaps the reasons for this failure will become clearer then. Syros still has hopes for tamibarotene, with the Select-MDS-1 trial due to yield data in the fourth quarter; however, most investors aren’t hanging around, with the group’s stock closing down 62% on Tuesday. In any case, there are question marks over tamibarotene’s shelf life, with its composition-of-matter patent having expired years ago.

Tamibarotene trials

Source: OncologyPipeline.