- Sierra Oncology to trade on NASDAQ under the
symbol 'SRRA' -
- Company to present at the BIOTECH Showcase in San Francisco on January 11th -
VANCOUVER, Jan. 9, 2017 /CNW/ - ProNAi Therapeutics,
Inc. (NASDAQ: DNAI), a clinical-stage drug development company
advancing targeted therapeutics for the treatment of patients with
cancer, today announced it has changed its corporate name to Sierra
Oncology, Inc. and that its shares will trade on the NASDAQ under
the symbol 'SRRA', effective on January
10th. The company's new name reflects its
evolution into an oncology focused company advancing an emerging
pipeline of promising therapies that target the DNA Damage Response
(DDR) network.
"We believe there is a significant opportunity for therapeutics
that target the DDR network to have broad potential in the
treatment of cancer, and that by successfully advancing our new
drug candidates in this field we may generate substantial long-term
value for our company," said Dr. Nick
Glover, President and CEO of Sierra Oncology. "Our new name,
Sierra Oncology, reflects our focus on this approach and the
commitment of our management team to charting innovative paths for
developing novel therapeutics against cancer."
Dr. Glover will be presenting an update on Sierra Oncology at
the BIOTECH Showcase being held in San
Francisco on January
11th. The presentation, entitled 'Beyond PARP –
Next Generation DDR Therapeutics", is scheduled for 8:00 am (PST) on Wednesday, January 11th. A live audio
webcast and archive of the presentation will be accessible through
the Sierra Oncology website at www.sierraoncology.com.
About Sierra Oncology
Sierra Oncology is a clinical
stage drug development company advancing targeted therapeutics for
the treatment of patients with cancer. Our lead drug candidate,
SRA737, is a highly selective, orally bioavailable small molecule
inhibitor of Checkpoint kinase 1 (Chk1), a key cell cycle
checkpoint and central regulator of the DNA Damage Response (DDR)
network. In cancer cells, replication stress induced by oncogenes
(e.g., MYC and RAS) combined with loss of function in tumor
suppressors (e.g., p53 and ATM) results in persistent DNA damage
and genomic instability. Targeted inhibition of the remaining
components of the DDR network such as by SRA737 may be
synthetically lethal to cancer cells and have utility as a
monotherapy in a range of tumor indications. Chk1 is also believed
to facilitate tumor cell resistance to chemotherapy or
radiation-induced DNA damage and the combination of SRA737 with
these standards-of-care may provide synergistic anti-tumor
activity. SRA737 is currently being investigated in two Phase 1
clinical trials in patients with advanced cancer.
Sierra Oncology is also advancing SRA141, a potent, selective
and orally bioavailable small molecule inhibitor of the Cdc7 kinase
undergoing preclinical development. Cdc7 is a key regulator of both
DNA replication and the DDR network, making it a compelling
emerging target for the potential treatment of a broad range of
tumor types.
Sierra Oncology retains the global commercialization rights to
both SRA737 and SRA141. For more information, please visit
www.sierraoncology.com.
Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements
This
press release contains forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to,
statements regarding Sierra Oncology's anticipated clinical
development and the potential benefits of Sierra Oncology's product
candidates. All statements other than statements of historical fact
are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements.
These statements are based on management's current expectations and
beliefs and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and
assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those described in the forward-looking statements. Such
forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties,
including, among others, the risk that Sierra Oncology may be
unable to successfully develop and commercialize product
candidates, SRA737 and SRA141 are at early stages of development
and may not demonstrate safety and efficacy or otherwise produce
positive results, Sierra Oncology may experience delays in the
preclinical and anticipated clinical development of SRA737 or
SRA141, Sierra Oncology may be unable to acquire additional assets
to build a pipeline of additional product candidates, Sierra
Oncology's third-party manufacturers may cause its supply of
materials to become limited or interrupted or fail to be of
satisfactory quantity or quality, Sierra Oncology's cash resources
may be insufficient to fund its current operating plans and it may
be unable to raise additional capital when needed, Sierra Oncology
may be unable to obtain and enforce intellectual property
protection for its technologies and product candidates and the
other factors described under the heading "Risk Factors" set forth
in Sierra Oncology's filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission from time to time. Sierra Oncology undertakes no
obligation to update the forward-looking statements contained
herein or to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the
date hereof, other than as may be required by applicable law.
SOURCE ProNAi Therapeutics Inc.