Codelivery of Ponatinib and SAR302503 by Active Bone-Targeted Polymeric Micelles for the Treatment of Therapy-Resistant Chronic Myeloid Leukemia

Point mutations in the BCR-ABL1 domain and primitive chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) cells existing in the bone marrow environment insensitive to tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) have become two major challenges in the CML therapy. In this study, combined TKI ponatinib and JAK2 Inhibitor SAR302503 short-term treatment effectively suppressed growth and promoted Apoptosis of BaF3/T315I cells in cytokine-containing medium in vitro. SAR302503 prevented cytokine-dependent resistance to ponatinib via inhibition of JAK2/STAT5 phosphorylation. Codelivery of ponatinib and SAR302503 by active bone-targeted polymeric micellar formulation greatly increased the drug accumulation in medullary cavity. The therapeutic efficacy of bone-targeted formulation was demonstrated in BaF3/T315I cells inoculated murine model with no dose-limited toxicity detectable in health mice. Thus, the intravenous injectable bone-homing ponatinib and SAR302503 micellar formulation represents a promising strategy for the treatment of therapy-resistant CML.