SLS009 Shows Promising Activity in Combating Pancreatic Cancer Resistance
News related to:SELLAS Life Sciences Group, Inc · 1 min read
NEW YORK, Sept. 25, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- SELLAS Life Sciences Group, Inc. has announced preclinical data from studies evaluating SLS009, its highly selective cyclin-dependent kinases 9 (CDK9) inhibitor, in patient-derived organoid models of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). The findings were presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Conference on Pancreatic Cancer: New Frontiers in Biology and Therapeutic Development, which took place from September 25-28, 2026, in San Diego.
In a MYC-amplified, daraxonrasib-resistant patient-derived PDAC organoid model, SLS009 demonstrated significantly greater activity than daraxonrasib alone. Specifically, SLS009 at 200 nM induced 17.9% apoptosis and 14.5% necrosis, compared to 2.8% apoptosis and 2.7% necrosis with daraxonrasib at 100 nM. When SLS009 and daraxonrasib were combined, the combination further increased apoptosis to 36.5% and necrosis to 30.6%.
These results suggest that CDK9 inhibition may enhance the activity of RAS-directed therapy, including in the setting of MYC-associated resistance. The data support a broader strategy of using SLS009 to disrupt transcriptional programs that may contribute to resistance to RAS-targeted therapies.
Additionally, SLS009 combined with the BET inhibitor ZEN3694 demonstrated synergistic activity in a separate MYC-amplified patient-derived PDAC organoid model. The combination produced greater apoptosis and necrosis than either agent alone, with SLS009 at 200 nM and ZEN3694 at a concentration substantially below reported physiologically achievable exposure levels.
The studies, conducted in collaboration with researchers at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, evaluated SLS009 in various combinations to explore its potential as a therapeutic agent. The findings provide a strong rationale for further investigation of SLS009-based combinations in molecularly defined subsets of pancreatic cancer.
The posters presenting these findings will be available on SELLAS’ website following the conference. SELLAS is a late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapeutics for a broad range of cancer indications. The company’s lead product candidate, GPS, is licensed from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and targets the WT1 protein, which is present in an array of tumor types.