BerGenBio ASA (OSE: BGBIO) has appointed Olav Hellebø as CEO, effective November 21, 2024. Hellebø brings 30 years of pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry experience, including roles at Cytovation ASA, Antev , ReNeuron Group PLC, and Clavis Pharma ASA. He has also held leadership positions at UCB-Celltech, Novartis UK, and Schering-Plough. The company is developing selective AXL kinase inhibitors, with its candidate drug bemcentinib in clinical trials for non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer patients with STK11 gene mutations.
BerGenBio ASA has announced updated preliminary survival data from its ongoing Phase II study of bemcentinib in combination with low dose cytarabine for elderly patients with relapsed Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML). The study included an expansion cohort of 27 patients, showing a 31% overall response rate and a median overall survival of 13.3 months. Notably, patients receiving multiple cycles exhibited a 36% complete response rate. Ongoing discussions with FDA and EMA focus on a pivotal trial pathway for this combination therapy.