BerGenBio ASA announced that the first patient has been dosed in an investigator-initiated phase II trial of bemcentinib, a selective, potent and orally bio-available AXL inhibitor, in patients with high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) who have failed first-line treatment with hypomethylating agents. The trial may also enrol a proportion of patients with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). The study is being sponsored by GWT-TUD GmbH (a specialist cancer clinical research institution associated with the University of Dresden, Germany) with the support of BerGenBio. The trial (BGBIL009 /BERGAMO) aims to confirm the efficacy of bemcentinib monotherapy in patients with high-risk MDS and AML and will enrol up to 43 patients at 8 hospitals in Germany, France, the Netherlands and Italy. The study will allow for the evaluation of potential predictive and pharmacodynamic biomarkers for MDS in bone marrow and blood, including those associated with patient benefit from bemcentinib.