Kura Oncology Establishes Collaboration with Foundation Medicine to Support Tipifarnib Development in HRAS Mutant Head and Ne...
July 13 2017 - 7:30AM
Kura Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:KURA), a clinical stage
biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of precision
medicines for oncology, today announced it has entered into a
collaboration agreement with Foundation Medicine, Inc. (NASDAQ:FMI)
to support patient enrollment for Kura’s clinical program for
tipifarnib in patients with relapsed and/or refractory HRAS mutant
squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN).
“We’re excited to collaborate with Foundation Medicine, a leader
and innovator in precision medicine, molecular information and
comprehensive genomic profiling, as part of our strategy to reach a
broader population of patients with high unmet medical need,” said
Troy Wilson, Ph.D., J.D., President and CEO of Kura Oncology. “Our
preliminary data suggests tipifarnib has activity in patients with
HRAS mutant squamous cell head and neck cancer, who have failed
other treatment options, and we believe Foundation Medicine’s
unique expertise and outreach to physicians treating SCCHN
patients, in particular, in the community treatment setting fit
well with our company’s objectives and values.”
Through this collaboration, Foundation Medicine’s SmartTrials
Precision Enrollment program will contact physicians treating
individuals across the U.S. diagnosed with SCCHN whose tumors
harbor HRAS mutations as detected in the course of routine clinical
care. The treating physicians will be contacted and informed of
Kura’s ongoing Phase 2 study of tipifarnib, including relevant
details about the trial, including trial patient characteristics
and investigational centers, to assist the physician in evaluating
tipifarnib as a potential treatment option.
Tipifarnib is an inhibitor of farnesylation, a key cell
signaling process implicated in cancer initiation and development,
and is under investigation in multiple ongoing clinical trials.
Tipifarnib has demonstrated encouraging preclinical and clinical
activity, including durable partial responses, in an ongoing Phase
2 clinical trial in patients with HRAS mutant SCCHN. Additional
information about this clinical trial can be found at
clinicaltrials.gov.
About HRAS Mutant SCCHN
Head and neck cancer is one of the leading causes of
cancer-related deaths worldwide, with squamous cell carcinomas
accounting for most head and neck cancers. The relapsed and/or
refractory SCCHN patient population has an overall survival of
approximately 6-8 months and few therapeutic options. New therapies
for SCCHN, including immunotherapy, typically show a response rate
in the range of 10-20%. HRAS is a proto-oncogene that has been
implicated in the development and progression of SCCHN. HRAS mutant
SCCHN has an estimated annual incidence of approximately 2,800 to
3,400 patients in the U.S. and represents a significant unmet
medical need.
About Kura Oncology
Kura Oncology is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company
committed to realizing the promise of precision medicines for the
treatment of cancer. The company’s pipeline consists of small
molecule drug candidates that target cancer signaling pathways
where there is a strong scientific and clinical rationale to
improve outcomes by identifying those patients most likely to
benefit from treatment. Kura Oncology’s lead drug candidate is
tipifarnib, a farnesyl transferase inhibitor, which is currently
being studied in multiple Phase 2 clinical trials. Kura’s pipeline
also includes KO-947, an ERK inhibitor, currently in a Phase 1
trial, and KO-539, an inhibitor of the menin-MLL protein-protein
interaction, currently in preclinical testing. For additional
information about Kura Oncology, please visit the company’s website
at www.kuraoncology.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains certain forward-looking statements
that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual
results to be materially different from historical results or from
any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements. Such forward-looking statements include statements
regarding, among other things, the potential activity, tolerability
and utility of tipifarnib, the conduct, results and timing of
pre-clinical studies and clinical trials, plans regarding future
research and development activities and expectations regarding
clinical trial enrollment, and biomarkers related to tipifarnib.
Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially include
the risk that compounds that appeared promising in early research
or clinical trials do not demonstrate safety and/or efficacy in
later preclinical studies or clinical trials, the risk that Kura
Oncology may not obtain approval to market its product candidates,
uncertainties associated with regulatory filings and applications,
the risks associated with reliance on outside financing to meet
capital requirements, and the risks associated with reliance on
third parties to successfully conduct clinical trials within and
outside the United States and for development and commercialization
of product candidates and other risks associated with the process
of discovering, developing and commercializing drugs that are safe
and effective for use as human therapeutics. You are urged to
consider statements that include the words "may," "might", "will,"
"would," "could," "should," "believes," "estimates," "projects,"
"promise, " "potential," "expects," "plans," "anticipates,"
"intends," "continues," "designed," "goal," or the negative
of those words or other comparable words to be uncertain and
forward-looking. For a further list and description of the risks
and uncertainties the Company faces, please refer to the Company's
periodic and other filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, which are available at www.sec.gov. Such
forward-looking statements are current only as of the date they are
made, and Kura Oncology assumes no obligation to update any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise.
CONTACT INFORMATION
INVESTOR CONTACT:
Robert H. Uhl
Managing Director
Westwicke Partners, LLC
(858) 356-5932
robert.uhl@westwicke.com
CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS CONTACT:
Mark Corbae
Vice President
Canale Communications
(619) 849-5375
mark@canalecomm.com
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