zemirciclib (AZD4573) / AstraZeneca - LARVOL DELTA

Preclinical activity of investigational menin inhibitor DSP-5336 (Enzomenib)-based combinations against MLL1-rearranged (MLL-r) or mutant-NPM1 AML models (ASH 2025) - "Previously reported preclinical data showed that treatment with Menin inhibitor (MI),e.g., SNDX-5613 (revumenib) or KO-539 (ziftomenib), disrupts binding of Menin to MLL1/2 and MLL1-FP,leading to reduced MLL1/2 and MLL1-FP target gene expression, as well as induction of differentiationand apoptosis in AML cells expressing MLL-FP or mtNPM1c...Notably, in the cell lines and PD AML cells with MLLr ormtNPM1c AML, in vitro treatment with DSP-5336 in combination with CDK9 inhibitor (CDK9i) AZD4573 orBAY1251152 for 48 to 96 hours induced synergistic apoptosis or loss of viability, as discovered by the ZIPmethod with SynergyFinder...In vivo co-treatment with DSP-5336 and BAY1251152 showedsignificantly greater reduction in AML burden than treatment with each agent alone (p< 0.05), withoutinducing weight loss or other toxicities. These preclinical findings underscore the anti-AML activity of DSP-5336 and its molecular correlates, aswell as demonstrate synergistic in vitro and..."

IO biomarker • Preclinical • Acute Myelogenous Leukemia • Hematological Malignancies • Leukemia • BCL2 • CASP3 • CD123 • CD33 • CD99 • CDK6 • CLEC12A • FLT3 • HOXA9 • IFNG • IL3RA • ITGAM • KMT2A • MEF2C • MEIS1 • NPM1 • PBX3

CDK9 Inhibition Overcomes Ibrutinib Resistance in Mantle Cell Lymphoma (MCL) (ASH 2023) - "IACS-010759, an inhibitor of complex I of the ETC which targets OxPhos, demonstrated synergy with AZD4573 in parental and ibr-resistant MCL cell lines. CDK9 inhibition with AZD4573 induced apoptosis, downregulated MYC and MCL1 and NFκB signaling, and overcame ibr resistance in preclinical MCL models. This was also noted in a sample obtained from a clinical trial. Prolonged CDK9 inhibition led to metabolic reprogramming towards OxPhos, which thus can serve as a therapeutic target in MCL."

Hematological Malignancies • Lymphoma • Mantle Cell Lymphoma • Oncology • CD40LG • CD5 • MYC • PTPRC • TGFB1 • TNFA

The Novel CDK9/CDK4/6/PI3K Triple Inhibitor LCI139 for the Treatment of MYC-Driven Mantle Cell Lymphoma (ASH 2023) - "Compared with clinical single agent CDK9 inhibitor AZD4573, LCI139 is less toxic to normal human stromal cells (HS-5), whereas both LCI139 and AZD4573 have no significant cytotoxic effect on normal human foreskin fibroblast cells (Hs68). Finally, we show that LCI139 overcomes chronic ibrutinib resistance by decreasing viability in JeKO-1 IR and Mino IR cells with an IC50 of 79 nM and 89 nM, respectively. Therefore, the multitarget small molecule inhibitor LCI139 has superior potency against IR MCL cell lines and overcomes ibrutinib-resistance at nanomolar doses."

Hematological Malignancies • Lymphoma • Mantle Cell Lymphoma • Oncology • ANXA5 • CCND1 • CDK9 • MYC • PARP1 • PIK3CA • PIK3CG

Inhibition of Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 9 Rapidly Induces Apoptosis in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and Shows Synergistic Activity with BH3-Mimetics (ASH 2024) - "Using the multi-CDK inhibitor dinaciclib, which targets CDK1, 2, 5 and 9, and the specific CDK9 inhibitor AZD4573, we analyzed the effects of both inhibitors in a series of ALL cell lines (BCP-ALL n=10, T-ALL n=6) and primary, patient-derived xenograft (PDX) samples (BCP-ALL n=15, T-ALL n=9)...Based on this, we investigated combinatorial inhibition of CDK9 (AZD4573) together with inhibitors of BCL-2 or BCL-XL (venetoclax, A-1331852, AZD4320) using dose-response matrix analyses and found enhanced cell death and synergistic activity for both combinations...However, intrinsic insensitivity due to dysbalanced protein levels of pro-survival proteins might limit efficacy. Combining CDK9 inhibition with inhibitors of the anti-apoptotic molecules BCL-2/BCL-XL significantly enhances cell death, thus overcoming insensitivity and providing an effective, novel therapeutic anti-ALL strategy to be further evaluated for clinical application."

IO biomarker • Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia • Hematological Malignancies • Leukemia • Oncology • T Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia • ANXA5 • BCL2L1 • CASP3 • CDK1 • CDK9 • MCL1

AZD4573 in Combination with CHOP Increases Combination Benefit in Preclinical Peripheral T-Cell Lymphomas Models (ASH 2023) - P2 | "Current standard of care for pTCL revolves around the chemotherapy regimens CHOP/E and for CD30-postive pTCLs, brentuximab vedotin is approved...Using the MCL-1 inhibitor AZD5991, we have shown statistically significant benefit in survival when combined with CHOP in 2 MCL-1 dependent preclinical pTCL PDX models (Koch et al...These data suggested that treatment with AD4573 either as a monotherapy or in combination with CHOP, would be an effective therapeutic strategy in pTCL. AZD4573 monotherapy is currently being evaluated in a phase 2 study (NCT05140382) to assess the efficacy, safety, and PK in patients with relapsed/refractory pTCL."

Combination therapy • IO biomarker • Preclinical • Cutaneous T-cell Lymphoma • Hematological Malignancies • Lymphoma • Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma • Oncology • Peripheral T-cell Lymphoma • T Cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma • BCL2 • BCL2A1 • BCL2L1 • CASP3 • CASP7 • MYC • TNFRSF8

Variable Response of MLL-Rearranged Leukemia Cell Lines to Combinations of Menin, CDK9 and DOT1L Inhibitors (ASH 2023) - " We performed cell viability experiments on leukemia cell lines (MV4; 11, MOLM13, RS4; 11, THP1, SEM, KOPN8, NOMO1, HL60, ML2) with single, two and three drug combinations using a menin inhibitor (VTP50469), a DOT1L inhibitor (EPZ5676), and a CDK9 inhibitor (AZD4573). Based on our preclinical in vitro findings, the co-inhibition of menin-DOT1L or menin-CDK9 is a promising approach for the treatment of MLL-r leukemia. The varying responses of different MLL-r leukemia cell lines to drug combination treatment indicate that not all cases of MLL-r leukemia will respond uniformly to treatment combinations. Taken together, our data provide a strategy to determine optimal treatment combinations for personalized treatment of MLL-r leukemia."

Preclinical • Hematological Malignancies • Leukemia • Oncology • ANXA5 • CDK9 • DOT1L • GLI2 • ITGAM • KMT2A

Transient CDK9 Inhibition with AZD4573 Effectively Induces Apoptosis in Burkitt Lymphoma As a Monotherapy in Pre-Clinical Models (ASH 2023) - P2 | "AZD4573 is currently in a phase 2 study (NCT05140382) to assess the efficacy, safety, and PK of AZD4573 in patients with relapsed or refractory Peripheral T-cell lymphomas (pTCL). Our findings demonstrate that targeting CDK9 with AZD4573 can effectively induce apoptosis in pre-clinical BL models and could be an effective therapy for BL patients."

Monotherapy • Preclinical • B Cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma • Burkitt Lymphoma • Hematological Malignancies • Lymphoma • Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma • Oncology • Peripheral T-cell Lymphoma • T Cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma • BCL2 • BCL2L1 • CASP3 • MCL1 • MYC

Cooperative Networks between MYC and XPO1 Associated with Decreased T-Cell Presence and a Depleted Tumor Microenvironment May be Addressed By the Synergistic Combination of AZD4573 and Selinexor (ASH 2023) - "Our results support that the cooperation between MYC and XPO1 is associated with T-cell reductions characteristic of a Depleted or Cold TME, a key issue for CAR-T success. We applied the targeted therapies AZD4573 and Selinexor vs. cell line models to address this pathway, with both displaying anti-tumor effects as single agents."

Biomarker • IO biomarker • Tumor microenvironment • Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma • Oncology • CD4 • CD8 • CDK9 • CDKN1A • TNFAIP3 • XPO1

Orally Effective CDK9 Inhibitor YX0798 for Treating Aggressive Lymphoma (ASH 2024) - "We also showed AZD4573 and enitociclib are safe and effective treatments in preclinical MCL models, and the therapeutics target CDK9. Mechanistically, YX0798 or the commercial competitor led to CDK9 inhibition and primarily resulted in downregulation of short-lived oncoprotein c-MYC and pro-survival protein MCL-1. Ultimately, CDK9 inhibition disrupted the cell cycle and switched cellular metabolism towards oxidative phosphorylation, eventually leading to cell death.ConclusionsTogether, our study demonstrates that YX0798 is an orally bioavailable CDK9 inhibitor with exquisite selectivity and anti-tumor potency that drives transcription reprogramming towards tumor cell killing."

Hematological Malignancies • Lymphoma • Mantle Cell Lymphoma • Oncology • CDC37 • HSP90AA1 • MCL1 • MYC

Combinatorial Therapy of CDK9 Inhibitor with CD19 CAR-T to Reciprocally Overcome Therapy Resistance and Enhance Treatment Efficacies Against Aggressive B-Cell Lymphomas (ASH 2024) - "In doing so, we are able to demonstrate that : 1) DLBCL and MCL are exquisitely sensitive to CDK9 inhibition (NVP2/AZD4573) regardless of genetic background or resistance status, 2) populations of CDK9i (NVP2/AZD4573) treatment-induced drug tolerant persister (DTP) cells are responsible for driving therapy resistance evolution, 3) CDK9i (NVP2/AZD4573) treatment induces an immunogenic response via activation of proinflammatory and IFN pathways ex vivo and in vivo, and 4) CDK9i and CD19 CAR-T therapies exhibit reciprocally enhanced efficacy in a manner that can overcome therapy resistance in DLBCL and MCL. The outcomes of this study have broad applicability across B-cell malignancies for eradicating both targeted and CAR-T therapy resistance, which we anticipate can be readily translated to the clinic and have immediate impact on DLBCL/MCL patient care."

IO biomarker • B Cell Lymphoma • Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma • Hematological Malignancies • Lymphoma • Mantle Cell Lymphoma • Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma • Oncology • BCL2

CDK9 Is a Vulnerability in GATA-3 Driven and MCL-1 Independent T-Cell Lymphomas (ASH 2024) - "Methods : A pharmacologic strategy, using the selective CDK9 inhibitor AZD4573, was utilized to identify CDK9 dependent transcripts...Furthermore, CDK9 and GATA-3 are binding partners, and CDK9 inhibition significantly impaired transcription of the GATA-3 dependent transcriptome. Therefore, CDK9 inhibition, by impairing expression of the GATA-3 dependent transcriptome, is an attractive therapeutic strategy for GATA-3 driven TCL, many of which are largely resistant to conventional chemotherapeutic approaches."

Cutaneous T-cell Lymphoma • Hematological Malignancies • Lymphoma • Mantle Cell Lymphoma • Oncology • Peripheral T-cell Lymphoma • T Cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma • CDK9 • GATA3 • MCL1 • PTEN • SMARCB1 • TP53

Inhibition of CDK9 enhances AML cell death induced by combined venetoclax and azacitidine. (PubMed, Mol Oncol) - "Relapsed/refractory (R/R) disease is a major hurdle to long-term survival of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients treated with intensive cytarabine (AraC)-based chemotherapy. The roles of MCL-1 and c-MYC in the three-drug combination were confirmed by knockdown. This study demonstrates that AZD4573 enhances the activity of VEN + AZA against AraC-resistant AML by downregulating c-MYC and MCL-1 and to a lesser extent cellular respiration."

Journal • Acute Myelogenous Leukemia • Hematological Malignancies • Leukemia • Oncology • CDK9 • MYC

Cyclin-dependent kinase 9 inhibitors as oncogene signaling modulators in combination with targeted therapy for the treatment of colorectal cancer. (PubMed, bioRxiv) - "CDK9 inhibitors show promising activity against patient-derived models of CRC. MAPK signaling is particularly suppressed by CDK9 inhibitors. Combining CDK9 inhibitors and targeted therapy against MAPK signaling pathway may be a viable strategy worthy of further investigation preclinically and clinically."

Journal • Colorectal Cancer • Oncology • Solid Tumor • CDK9

Cyclin dependent kinase 9 inhibitor induces transcription-replication conflicts and DNA damage accumulation in breast cancer. (PubMed, Cancer Cell Int) - "Inhibition of CDK9 by AZD4573 induces the accumulation of DNA damage through T-R conflicts. DDX25 helicases were identified as a key mediator in resolving T-R conflicts and the reduced sensitivity to AZD4573."

Journal • Breast Cancer • Hematological Malignancies • Leukemia • Oncology • Solid Tumor • ANXA5 • CASP3 • CDK9 • DDX5

YX0798 Is a Highly Potent, Selective, and Orally Effective CDK9 Inhibitor for Treating Aggressive Lymphoma. (PubMed, Blood Adv) - "We also showed that targeting CDK9 by AZD4573 and enitociclib is a safe and effective treatment in preclinical MCL models, supporting CDK9 as a valid therapeutic target for MCL. Furthermore, YX0798 has the potential to be used in combination therapy with clinical agents to improve treatment efficacy. Together, these data demonstrate that YX0798 has oral bioavailability, exquisite selectivity, and anti-tumor potency that results from driving transcription reprogramming towards tumor cell killing."

Journal • Hematological Malignancies • Lymphoma • Mantle Cell Lymphoma • Oncology • CDC37 • HSP90AA1 • MCL1 • MYC

INTEGRATED GENE EXPRESSION AND PATHWAY ENRICHMENT ANALYSES FOLLOWING CDK9 INHIBITION IN CUTANEOUS T-CELL LYMPHOMA PATIENT-DERIVED XENOGRAFT MODELS (ICML 2025) - "AZD4573 exhibits potent anti-tumor activity in primary CTCL tumor cells and PDX models, delaying tumor growth and prolonging survival. In PDX models, CDK9 inhibition suppresses oncogenic transcriptional programs and induces epigenetic remodeling, highlighting its potential for combination therapy strategies in CTCL."

IO biomarker • Preclinical • Cutaneous T-cell Lymphoma • Hematological Malignancies • Lymphoma • Mycosis Fungoides • Oncology • Sezary Syndrome • T Cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma • ANXA5 • BCL2 • BIRC5 • CASP3 • CASP7 • MCL1 • MYC • MYCL • MYCN

Potential novel interventions of oncohistones, epigenetic modifications, and RNA processing machinery in betel-nuts related HNSCC in Taiwan (AACR 2025) - "PI3K/AKT/mTOR interventions, ALK/IGF1R inhibitor, CDK4/6 inhibitor, BCl2 inhibitor, WEE1 inhibitor, ATR inhibitor, DNA-PK inhibitor, AT2AR inhibitor, Mcl-1 inhibitor, MEK1/2 inhibitor, JAK2 inhibitor, CXCR4 inhibitor, FAK inhibitor, p53 reactivator, MDM2 inhibitor, SHP2 inhibitor, PARP7 inhibitor, IAP inhibitor, GLS1 inhibitor, eribulin, & VEGFR2/ PDGFR/FGFR or VEGFR2/c-MET/Axl triple blockage might be effective on TW2.6 and reverse treatment refractoriness, through the inhibition of mesenchymal transformation, pRB, & PI3K/AKT /mTOR signaling and modulation of stemness & PD1/PDL1 pathway...Disrupting NSD1 in HNSCC cell lines led to CpG hypomethylation & enhanced cisplatin sensitivity. TW2.6 used to test (1)in vitro drug sensitivity to (a)Chemical Modulators of Splicing; (b)PRMT5 inhibitor; (c)CDK9 inhibitor, EZH2i, DNMT3i, BRD/BET4i, and HDACi; (d)NSD1/SETD2 inhibitor; (e)METTL3 inhibitor; (2)synergistic effects with other therapies by MTT assay, colony..."

IO biomarker • Head and Neck Cancer • Oncology • Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck • AKT1 • ALK • ARID1B • ATM • AXL • BRD4 • CCND3 • CDK12 • CXCR4 • DDR2 • EPHB1 • FAT1 • FGF10 • FGFR • FLCN • HRAS • KDM5A • KDR • METTL3 • MITF • NSD1 • PDGFRB • PIK3CA • RICTOR • RPS6KB1 • SDHA • SETD2 • SOX9 • STK11 • TERT • TIPARP • TMB • TNFAIP3

Differential activity of specific inhibitors of transcription regulating cyclin-dependent kinases in thyroid cancer cells. (PubMed, Endocr Relat Cancer) - "We selected thyroid cancer cell lines with a variety of genetic drivers for initial screening studies with CDK7/12/13 (THZ1) and CDK9 (AZD4573) inhibitors...Combined reduction in CDK12/13 levels with siRNA reduced RNAPII phosphorylation. These data suggest that specific inhibitors of CDK12/13 may be particularly active in thyroid cancer cell lines; further studies evaluating their efficacy are warranted in thyroid cancer."

Journal • Endocrine Cancer • Oncology • Solid Tumor • Thyroid Gland Carcinoma • CDK12 • CDK9 • PTEN • RET

Drug discovery of potent and specific CDK9 protein degraders for the treatment of refractory lymphomas (AACR 2025) - "To construct CDK9 PROTACs, we adopted our identified CDK9is, clinical candidates AZD4573 and VIP152, conjugating with E3 ligands via diverse linkers for comparison studies. Through rational drug design and structure-based chemical optimization, YX0798 was discovered as a novel CDK9i with high binding affinity, cellular potency, target specificity, and favorable PK properties. Several promising potent and specific CDK9 degraders such as YX0597 have been identified. YX0597 is a bona fide CDK9 degrader highly effective against various resistant MCL cells, induces cell apoptosis and suppresses the tumor growth in vivo at a very low dosage in a PDX mouse model with dual resistance to BTKi and CAR-T, indicating its potential for the treatment of refractory lymphomas including resistant MCL."

Hematological Malignancies • Lymphoma • Mantle Cell Lymphoma • Oncology • CASP3 • CDK9 • MCL1 • MYC

Organoid-based drug screening identifies CDK9 as a target for stratified treatment of high-grade serous ovarian cancer (AACR 2025) - "To explore the CDK9i responses in HGSC, we profiled 18 organoid cultures against selective CDK9i (AZD4573, VIP-152, NVP-2 and KB-0742). For instance, expression of phosphodiesterase 3B (PDE3B) was correlated with CDK9i resistance (Pearson r = -0.744, p<0.001), while expression of ERBB3 was correlated with increased CDK9i sensitivity (Pearson r = 0.841, p<0.0001).Taken together, we demonstrate the application of an HGSC organoid biobank for identifying patient-specific targets, exceptional responder groups and potential CDK9i sensitivity biomarkers in HGSC. Results of this project could serve as a basis for designing a molecularly stratified CDK9 inhibitor-focused clinical trial in refractory HGSC patients."

High Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer • Oncology • Ovarian Cancer • Solid Tumor • CDK9 • ERBB3 • MYC

A novel class of multitarget small molecule PI3K-CDK4/6-CDK9-AURAKA/B inhibitor harnesses Warburg effect against non-small cell lung cancer (AACR 2025) - "Here, we describe how LCI139 harnesses the Warburg effect to induce synthetic lethality in NSCLC. LCI139-sensitive (NCI-H1703) and resistant (NCI-H1781) human NSCLC cells, identified from prior IC50 experiments, were treated with LCI139 (0.25 and 0.5μM) or single agent inhibitors PI3Ki (BKM120), CDK4/6i (Ribociclib), CDK9i (AZD4573), and AURKAi (Alisertib). Multitarget inhibitor, LCI139 is uniquely designed to harness the Warburg effect to induce synthetic lethality in glycolysis-reliant NSCLC by 1) inducing metabolic stress (pAMPK), 2) lowering the threshold to metabolic stress response (FoxO3 stabilization), and 3) enhancing caspase-dependent cell death non-canonical Cas8 activation."

IO biomarker • Lung Cancer • Non Small Cell Lung Cancer • Oncology • Solid Tumor • ANXA5 • BAX • BCL2 • BCL2L11 • CDK9 • SLC2A1

AZD4573 in Novel Combinations With Anti-cancer Agents in Patients With Advanced Blood Cancer (clinicaltrials.gov) - P1/2 | N=40 | Completed | Sponsor: AstraZeneca | Active, not recruiting ➔ Completed

Trial completion • B Cell Lymphoma • Hematological Disorders • Hematological Malignancies • Oncology

MYC networks associate with decreased CD8 T-cell presence in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and may be addressed by the synergistic combination of AZD4573 and Selinexor - a preliminary analysis. (PubMed, Ann Hematol) - "In vitro application of the CDK9 inhibitor AZD4573 and XPO1 inhibitor Selinexor significantly reduced DLBCL cell line viability as single agents and produced synergistic results when applied in combination. Our analysis presents key associations between the MYC oncogene and depleted TME presence capable of providing clarity within the evolving precision CAR-T treatment landscape."

IO biomarker • Journal • B Cell Lymphoma • Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma • Hematological Malignancies • Lymphoma • Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma • Oncology • CD58 • CD8 • IL7R • MYC • PD-L2

Suppression of microtubule acetylation mediates the anti-leukemic effect of CDK9 inhibition. (PubMed, Cancer Cell Int) - "We also conducted in vivo studies in a leukemic xenograft model, where AZD4573 treatment led to significant tumor regression, decreased ATAT1 expression, and α-tubulin degradation. Our study unravels a novel molecular mechanism by which CDK9 inhibition disrupts α-tubulin stability and provides valuable insights for exploring effective treatment regimens involving CDK9 inhibitors."

Journal • Hematological Disorders • Hematological Malignancies • Oncology

Differential activity of specific inhibitors of transcription regulating cyclin-dependent kinases in thyroid cancer cells (ATA 2024) - "Methods and We selected thyroid cancer cell lines with a variety of genetic drivers for initial screening studies with CDK7/ 12/13 (THZ1) and CDK9 (AZD4573) inhibitors... These data suggest that speci fic inhibitors of CDK12/13, and CDK9, are capable of inhibiting thyroid cancer growth and inducing apoptosis. Further studies evaluating the potential ef ficacy of these more speci fic inhibitors are warranted in thyroid cancer."

Endocrine Cancer • Oncology • Solid Tumor • Thyroid Gland Carcinoma • BRAF • CDK12 • CDK9 • RET