Dr. Roué on the Rationale for Evaluating TG-1701 in Ibrutinib-Resistant MCL Models

Gaël Roué, PhD, senior scientist at Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute, discusses the rationale to evaluate the novel irreversible BTK inhibitor TG-1701 in preclinical models of ibrutinib (Imbruvica)-resistant mantle cell lymphoma (MCL).

During the 2020 AACR Virtual Meeting, a study was presented showing activity with TG-1701 in combination with ublituximab and umbralisib in ibrutinib-resistant MCL models.

There is some debate regarding whether combining BTK inhibitors with CD20-directed antibodies is a lucrative strategy in MCL, says Roué. However, it is thought that inhibiting the BTK pathway may lead to a downregulation of CD20, which could antagonize anti-CD20 activity.

Additionally, the study showed that TG-1701 did not impair anti-CD20–mediated antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity or phagocytosis unlike ibrutinib, which partially antagonized rituximab (Rituxan) activity.