Mutations were identified in 60 (60%) of these patients (all with imatinib-resistant CML-AP). Despite the presence of imatinib-resistant BCR-ABL mutations and their association with poor prognosis, at 8 months' follow-up, 73% of patients with an imatinib-resistant BCR-ABL mutation had achieved MaHR following treatment with dasatinib.

BMS-354825 is an orally bioavailable ABL kinase inhibitor with two-log increased potency relative to imatinib that retains activity against 14 of 15 imatinib-resistant BCR-ABL mutants. BMS354825 prolongs survival of mice with BCR-ABL– driven disease and inhibits proliferation of BCR-ABL–positive bone marrow progenitor cells from patients with imatinib-sensitive and imatinib-resistant CML....In vitro analysis of cell-growth inhibition of imatinib-resistant Ba/F3 cells expressing the indicated BCR-ABL mutants. Viable cell counts were performed in triplicate after 48 hours of exposure to BMS-354825 and normalized to the dimethyl sulfoxide–treated sample.