Verastem Oncology (Nasdaq:VSTM), a biopharmaceutical company
committed to advancing new medicines for patients battling cancer,
today announced that Channing Der, PhD, has been appointed to its
Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Der, a preeminent researcher in the
science of RAS pathway signaling and rational drug combinations,
will provide expert guidance as Verastem advances its work in RAS
pathway-driven cancers, including lead compound, RAF/MEK clamp
VS-6766.
Dr. Der is the Sarah Graham Kenan Distinguished Professor at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Since his initial
discovery of RAS oncogenes in human cancer in the early 1980s, his
research has centered on the study of RAS and RHO oncoproteins in
cancer. In particular, Dr. Der’s research has shown the importance
of vertical blockade of more than one node in the RAS pathway for
deeper and more durable antitumor response. His work has been
funded by grants from the National Cancer Institute, Department of
Defense, Lustgarten Foundation, and Pancreatic Cancer Action
Network/AACR.
“The ability of the RAF/MEK clamp, VS-6766, to induce inactive
complexes of MEK with ARAF, BRAF and CRAF is unique and opens up
broad opportunities for research that could have a significant
impact on the treatment of RAS pathway-driven cancers,” said Dr.
Der. “By joining Verastem’s Scientific Advisory Board, I look
forward to contributing to the Company’s efforts toward
scientifically-driven breakthroughs for patients.”
“We are delighted that Dr. Der has joined our Scientific
Advisory Board. Dr. Der has made tremendous contributions to
therapeutic development of cell signaling inhibitors going back to
early work on farnesyl transferase inhibitors in the 1990s,” said
Jonathan Pachter, Chief Scientific Officer of Verastem Oncology.
“His deep understanding of cancer cell signaling combined with the
passion to translate these concepts into therapeutic strategies for
treatment of patients with cancer will continue to bring valuable
insights into our work to establish VS-6766 as a backbone of
therapy for treatment of RAS pathway-driven solid tumors.”
Dr. Der joins current Scientific Advisory Board members Robert
Weinberg, PhD and Mario Sznol, MD.
About VS-6766
VS-6766 (formerly known as CH5126766 and RO5126766) is a RAF/MEK
clamp that induces inactive complexes of MEK with ARAF, BRAF and
CRAF potentially creating a more complete and durable anti-tumor
response through maximal RAS pathway inhibition. VS-6766 is
currently in late-stage development.
In contrast to other MEK inhibitors, VS-6766 blocks both MEK
kinase activity and the ability of RAF to phosphorylate MEK. This
unique mechanism allows VS-6766 to block MEK signaling without the
compensatory activation of MEK that appears to limit the efficacy
of other inhibitors. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
granted Breakthrough Therapy designation for the combination of
Verastem Oncology’s investigational RAF/MEK inhibitor VS-6766, with
defactinib, its FAK inhibitor, for the treatment of all patients
with recurrent low-grade serous ovarian cancer (LGSOC) regardless
of KRAS status after one or more prior lines of therapy, including
platinum-based chemotherapy.1
Verastem Oncology is conducting Phase 2 registration-directed
trials of VS-6766 alone and with defactinib in patients with
recurrent LGSOC and in patients with recurrent KRAS-G12V mutant
NSCLC as part of its RAMP (Raf And Mek Program) clinical trials,
RAMP 201 and RAMP 202, respectively. Verastem Oncology has also
established clinical collaborations with Amgen and Mirati to
evaluate LUMAKRAS™ (sotorasib) and adagrasib in combination with
VS-6766 in KRAS-G12C mutant NSCLC as part of the RAMP 203 and RAMP
204 trials, respectively.
About Verastem Oncology
Verastem Oncology (Nasdaq: VSTM) is a development-stage
biopharmaceutical company committed to the development and
commercialization of new medicines to improve the lives of patients
diagnosed with cancer. Our pipeline is focused on novel small
molecule drugs that inhibit critical signaling pathways in cancer
that promote cancer cell survival and tumor growth, including
RAF/MEK inhibition and focal adhesion kinase (FAK) inhibition. For
more information, please visit www.verastem.com.
Forward-Looking Statements Notice
This press release includes forward-looking statements about
Verastem Oncology’s strategy, future plans and prospects, including
statements related to the potential clinical value of various of
its clinical trials, and potential for additional development
programs involving Verastem Oncology’s lead compound. The words
"anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may,"
"plan," "predict," "project," "target," "potential," "will,"
"would," "could," "should," "continue," “can,” “promising” and
similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking
statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain
these identifying words. Each forward-looking statement is subject
to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those expressed or implied in such
statement.
Applicable risks and uncertainties include the risks and
uncertainties, among other things, regarding: the success in the
development and potential commercialization of our product
candidates, including VS-6766 in combination with other compounds,
including defactinib, LUMAKRASTM and others; the occurrence of
adverse safety events and/or unexpected concerns that may arise
from additional data or analysis or result in unmanageable safety
profiles as compared to their levels of efficacy; our ability to
obtain, maintain and enforce patent and other intellectual property
protection for our product candidates; the scope, timing, and
outcome of any legal proceedings; decisions by regulatory
authorities regarding labeling and other matters that could affect
the availability or commercial potential of our product candidates;
whether preclinical testing of our product candidates and
preliminary or interim data from clinical trials will be predictive
of the results or success of ongoing or later clinical trials; that
the timing, scope and rate of reimbursement for our product
candidates is uncertain; that third-party payors (including
government agencies) may not reimburse; that there may be
competitive developments affecting our product candidates; that
data may not be available when expected; that enrollment of
clinical trials may take longer than expected; that our product
candidates will experience manufacturing or supply interruptions or
failures; that we will be unable to successfully initiate or
complete the clinical development and eventual commercialization of
our product candidates; that the development and commercialization
of our product candidates will take longer or cost more than
planned; that we or Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. will fail to
fully perform under the VS-6766 license agreement; that we or our
other collaboration partners may fail to perform under our
collaboration agreements; that we may not have sufficient cash to
fund our contemplated operations; that we may be unable to obtain
adequate financing in the future through product licensing,
co-promotional arrangements, public or private equity, debt
financing or otherwise; that we will be unable to execute on our
partnering strategies for VS-6766 in combination with other
compounds; that we will not pursue or submit regulatory filings for
our product candidates; and that our product candidates will not
receive regulatory approval, become commercially successful
products, or result in new treatment options being offered to
patients.
Other risks and uncertainties include those identified under the
heading “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K
for the year ended December 31, 2020 as filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 18, 2021 and in any
subsequent filings with the SEC. The forward-looking statements
contained in this press release reflect Verastem Oncology’s views
as of the date hereof, and the Company does not assume and
specifically disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking
statements whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise, except as required by law.
______________________________ 1 Verastem Oncology Press
Release. Verastem Oncology Receives Breakthrough Therapy
Designation for VS-6766 with Defactinib in Recurrent Low-Grade
Serous Ovarian Cancer. May 24, 2021. Available at:
https://investor.verastem.com/news-releases/news-release-details/verastem-oncology-receives-breakthrough-therapy-designation-vs.
Accessed October 2021.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220324005125/en/
Investors: Ajay Munshi Vice President, Corporate
Development +1 781-469-1579 amunshi@verastem.com
Nate LiaBraaten Argot Partners +1 212-600-1902
nate@argotpartners.com
Media: Lisa Buffington Corporate Communications +1
781-292-4205 lbuffington@verastem.com
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