Moleculin Biotech's (MBRX) shares were up nearly 9% in recent Wednesday trading after the company announced preclinical data showcasing its drug candidate Annamycin's efficacy against venetoclax-resistant acute myeloid leukemia, or AML, cell lines.

Presented at the American Society of Hematology's Annual Meeting, the study showed that Annamycin effectively targets Cytarabine, or Ara-C, and Venetoclax-resistant AML cell lines from pretreated relapsed/refractory primary AML patients in vitro.

The data showed Annamycin's synergy with both Ara-C and Venetoclax in reducing cell viability, without cardiotoxicity, along with enhanced organotropism, the pharmaceutical company said, adding that Annamycin showed no significant toxicity in vivo, exhibiting a "favorable toxicity profile" compared to Doxorubicin, which is known for its cardiotoxic effects.

Additionally, there was no cardiotoxicity observed in ex vivo pathology examinations, similar to findings in clinical trials. Preliminary clinical data also shows that Annamycin, when combined with Ara-C, achieves a 60% complete response rate in patients who have relapsed from or were refractory to Venetoclax as a first-line therapy.

Moleculin said it is moving Annamycin into a phase 3 trial, "MIRACLE," with patient treatment scheduled to begin in Q1 2025.

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