SPEXIS AG, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, announced that its CXCR4 inhibitor balixafortide demonstrated synergistic efficacy in combination with docetaxel compared to either drug alone in a metastatic prostate cancer preclinical model.
Balixafortide is a potent and selective clinical-stage CXCR4 inhibitor. Spexis is currently evaluating various development opportunities for this program, including in hematological and solid tumors, as well as certain rare diseases beyond oncology.
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In vivo study in collaboration with the University of Michigan
The preclinical study of metastatic prostate cancer combining balixafortide (20 mg/kg twice daily in mice, corresponding to a clinically relevant dose) and docetaxel (5 mg/kg once weekly) assessed tumor burden and tumor-induced bone degradation. Overall, results showed superior synergistic efficacy compared to either drug alone.
For measuring tumor burden, PC3-luc tumor cells were assessed by bioluminescence imaging, while bone resorption was analyzed by tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAcP) serum levels. Animals that received treatment had lower TRAcP levels than the vehicle group (p=0.01). The combination of balixafortide and docetaxel decreased the total tumor burden significantly (p = 0.009). In addition, tumor-induced bone degradation was assessed by radiography and biomarkers. Radiograph imaging of the tibia on the day of study end demonstrated that animals receiving a combination of balixafortide and docetaxel showed less overall bone degradation from PC3-luc tumor cells.
Additional studies are in preparation to investigate the anti-metastatic mechanisms of action in more detail. The experiments were performed pursuant to a research collaboration with Professor Evan T. Keller from the University of Michigan.
“The decrease we saw in tumor burden with the combination of balixafortide and docetaxel is encouraging because we have chosen rigorous experimental conditions for both compounds to work alone,” said Evan T. Keller, DVM, PhD, Professor of Urology and Pathology, School of Medicine, University of Michigan. “Despite the availability of new treatments for prostate cancer, for patients whose disease has metastasized there remains a need for better treatment options. These data support further evaluation of this combination in this indication.”