CTI BioPharma Presents New Anemia Benefit Data from Pacritinib Program at the 2022 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition

SEATTLE, Dec. 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- CTI BioPharma Corp. (Nasdaq: CTIC) today announced an oral presentation and two poster presentations from the Company's pacritinib program at the 64th American Society of Hematology (ASH®) Annual Meeting and Exposition, taking place in New Orleans, Louisiana and virtually December 10-13, 2022.

A new post-hoc data analysis from the Phase 3 PERSIST-2 trial of pacritinib, a novel JAK2/IRAK1 inhibitor approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for patients with myelofibrosis and severe thrombocytopenia (platelet count below 50 x 109/L), highlights pacritinib's potential anemia benefit in patients with myelofibrosis through its inhibition of Activin A receptor type 1 (ACVR1).

"The ACVR1/hepcidin pathway has a major role in the control of anemia in patients with myelofibrosis. Importantly, pacritinib has now been shown to be a potent ACVR1 inhibitor that reduces hepcidin levels in vitro. Furthermore, in the PERSIST-2 trial, at the approved dose of 200 mg twice daily (BID), treatment with pacritinib led to transfusion independence in patients with myelofibrosis who required red blood cell (RBC) transfusions," said Dr. Stephen Oh, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Hematology Division at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. "As anemia poses a substantial burden for patients with myelofibrosis, the potential role of pacritinib in addressing anemia is highly encouraging."

"As our understanding of the mechanism of action of pacritinib expands, the full potential of pacritinib as a therapy for cytopenic myelofibrosis is emerging," said Adam Craig, MD, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of CTI BioPharma. "We continue in our commitment to meaningfully change the treatment paradigm for cytopenic myelofibrosis."