SAN DIEGO, April 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- MEI Pharma, Inc.
(NASDAQ: MEIP), a late-stage pharmaceutical company focused on
advancing new therapies for cancer, today announced
preclinical data demonstrating that voruciclib, an orally
administered cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitor that is potent
against CDK9, has single agent activity against multiple KRAS
mutant cancer cell lines and synergistically inhibits growth of
KRAS mutant cancers in combination with KRAS inhibitors. The
research is featured as an E-Poster Session presentation titled,
"Voruciclib, a CDK9 inhibitor, downregulates MYC and inhibits
proliferation of KRAS mutant cancers in preclinical models" at the
American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting
2021. Voruciclib is currently in a Phase 1b clinical trial as a monotherapy in patients
with relapsed and/or refractory B-cell malignancies and acute
myeloid leukemia (AML).
To view the poster and a multimedia announcement with additional
media and investor resources click here.
"Collectively, the data reported today offer the opportunity to
expand our current development activities with voruciclib and
support its potential as a therapeutic option for KRAS mutated
cancers in combination with direct inhibitors of KRAS," said
Daniel P. Gold, Ph.D., president and
chief executive officer of MEI Pharma. "Beyond these data, we have
ongoing efforts to explore other potential synergistic combinations
in various KRAS mutated cancers as we evaluate opportunities to
confirm these findings in a clinical setting."
KRAS mutated cancers are frequently associated with
overexpression of MYC, a transcription factor regulating cell
proliferation and growth. CDK9 is a known regulator
of MYC transcription and a modulator of MYC protein
phosphorylation. The data reported today in preclinical models
demonstrates that voruciclib:
- Results in a rapid decrease in the phosphorylation of proteins
that promote MYC transcription
- Rapidly decreases phosphorylation of MYC protein on Ser62, a
site implicated in stabilizing MYC in KRAS mutant cancers
- Possesses single agent activity against multiple KRAS mutant
cancer cell lines both in vitro and in vivo
- Synergistically inhibits KRAS G12C mutant cancer cell lines in
combination with KRAS G12C inhibitors, both in vitro and
in vivo
The full video presentation is available on our website here:
https://investor.meipharma.com/AACR-2021-Voruciclib.
About Voruciclib
Voruciclib is an orally administered
CDK inhibitor differentiated by its potent in vitro inhibition of
CDK9 in addition to CDK6, 4 and 1. CDK9 has important functions in
cell cycle regulation, including the modulation of two therapeutic
targets in cancer:
- CDK9 is a transcriptional regulator of the myeloid leukemia
cell differentiation protein ("MCL1"), a member of the family of
anti-apoptotic proteins which, when elevated, may prevent the cell
from undergoing cell death. Inhibition of CDK9 blocks the
production of MCL1, which is an established resistance mechanism to
the B-cell lymphoma ("BCL2") inhibitor venetoclax (marketed as
Venclexta®).
- CDK9 is a transcriptional regulator of the MYC proto-oncogene
protein ("MYC") which regulates cell proliferation and growth.
Upregulation of MYC is implicated in many human cancers and is
frequently associated with poor prognosis and unfavorable patient
survival. CDK9, in addition to being a transcription factor for
MYC, also decreases phosphorylation of MYC protein that is
implicated in stabilizing MYC in KRAS mutant cancers. Targeting MYC
directly has historically been difficult, but CDK9 is a promising
approach to target this oncogene.
Voruciclib is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1b trial evaluating dose and schedule in patients
with acute myeloid leukemia ("AML")
and B-cell malignancies. Applications in solid tumors are
also being explored, particularly in KRAS mutated cancers.
Investor and Analyst Video Webcast
MEI will host an
investor and analyst video webcast event on Tuesday, April 13,
2021 at 8:00 AM Eastern Time reviewing data from the
E-Poster Session presentation at AACR, in which MEI reported data
demonstrating voruciclib downregulates MYC and synergizes with KRAS
inhibitors to inhibit KRAS mutant cancers in preclinical models.
The event will also include additional voruciclib data as well as
an overview and update of MEI's business.
You can access the live video webcast under the investor
relations section of MEI's website on the "Events and Presentation"
page at: www.meipharma.com. A replay of the video webcast will
be archived for at least 30 days after the conclusion of the live
event.
About MEI Pharma
MEI Pharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: MEIP) is a
late-stage pharmaceutical company focused on developing potential
new therapies for cancer. MEI Pharma's portfolio of drug candidates
contains four clinical-stage assets, including zandelisib,
currently in an ongoing Phase 2 clinical trial which may support
accelerated approval applications with the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration. Each of MEI Pharma's pipeline candidates leverages
a different mechanism of action with the objective of developing
therapeutic options that are: (1) differentiated, (2) address unmet
medical needs and (3) deliver improved benefit to patients either
as standalone treatments or in combination with other therapeutic
options. For more information, please visit www.meipharma.com.
Follow us on Twitter @MEI_Pharma and on LinkedIn.
Forward-Looking Statements
Under U.S.
law, a new drug cannot be marketed until it has been investigated
in clinical studies and approved by the FDA as being safe and
effective for the intended use. Statements included in this press
release that are not historical in nature are "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You should be
aware that our actual results could differ materially from those
contained in the forward-looking statements, which are based on
management's current expectations and are subject to a number of
risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, our failure
to successfully commercialize our product candidates; costs and
delays in the development and or FDA approval, or the failure to
obtain such approval, of our product candidates; uncertainties or
differences in interpretation in clinical trial results; the impact
of the COVID-19 pandemic on our industry and individual companies,
including on our counterparties, the supply chain, the execution of
our clinical development programs, our access to financing and the
allocation of government resources; our inability to maintain or
enter into, and the risks resulting from our dependence upon,
collaboration or contractual arrangements necessary for the
development, manufacture, commercialization, marketing, sales and
distribution of any products; competitive factors; our inability to
protect our patents or proprietary rights and obtain necessary
rights to third party patents and intellectual property to operate
our business; our inability to operate our business without
infringing the patents and proprietary rights of others; general
economic conditions; the failure of any products to gain market
acceptance; our inability to obtain any additional required
financing; technological changes; government regulation; changes in
industry practice; and one-time events. We do not intend to update
any of these factors or to publicly announce the results of any
revisions to these forward-looking statements.
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SOURCE MEI Pharma, Inc.