GenFleet’s IND in China was cleared in June
2024; this is the first discovery program from the collaboration
Verastem announced in 2023 to advance into human clinical
trials
Verastem plans to initiate development studies
outside of China after evaluating initial dose escalation data from
the Phase 1 study in China
Verastem Oncology (Nasdaq: VSTM), a biopharmaceutical company
committed to advancing new medicines for patients with cancer,
today announced that the first patient has been dosed in a Phase
1/2 trial in China, conducted by GenFleet Therapeutics, evaluating
GFH375/VS-7375, a KRAS G12D (ON/OFF) inhibitor.
GFH375/VS-7375, was selected as Verastem’s lead discovery
program from its collaboration with GenFleet established in 2023.
GFH375/VS-7375 is an oral, potent and selective KRAS G12D dual
inhibitor of ON (GTP) and OFF (GDP) states. Preclinical data
presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
Annual Meeting in April 2024 demonstrated oral bioavailability
across preclinical species, strong anti-tumor activity as a single
agent and potency against intracranial tumor models suggesting the
potential to treat brain metastases.
“In a short amount of time, we identified GFH375/VS-7375, a
novel KRAS G12D (ON/OFF) inhibitor, as our lead discovery program
last year and now the first patient has been dosed in the Phase 1/2
study by GenFleet in China,” said Dan Paterson, president and chief
executive officer of Verastem Oncology. “We look forward to
leveraging the initial clinical dose escalation data to accelerate
our development path in the U.S., as there are currently no
FDA-approved KRAS G12D-targeted treatments despite the high
prevalence of this KRAS mutation in various cancers, including
pancreatic, colorectal, lung and uterine.”
The Phase 1 study is being conducted in approximately 20
hospitals currently in China and will evaluate the safety and
efficacy of GFH375/VS-7375 in patients with advanced KRAS G12D
mutant solid tumors. The Phase 1 study will determine the
recommended Phase 2 dose (RP2D) and then further evaluate in Phase
2 the efficacy and safety of GFH375/VS-7375 in patients with
advanced solid tumors, such as pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma,
colorectal cancer and non-small cell lung cancer.
About GFH375/VS-7375
GFH375/VS-7375 is a potential best-in-class, potent and
selective oral KRAS G12D (ON/OFF) inhibitor, identified as the lead
discovery program from the Verastem Oncology discovery and
development collaboration with GenFleet Therapeutics. GenFleet’s
IND for GFH375/VS-7375 was approved in China in June 2024 and the
Phase 1/2 trial in KRAS G12D-mutant solid tumors was subsequently
initiated and the first patient has been dosed in July 2024. The
collaboration includes three discovery programs, the first being
the KRAS G12D inhibitor, and provides Verastem Oncology with
exclusive options to license three compounds selected for
collaboration after successful completion of pre-determined
milestones in Phase 1 trials. The licenses would give Verastem
Oncology development and commercialization rights outside of the
GenFleet territories of mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and
Taiwan.
About Verastem Oncology
Verastem Oncology (Nasdaq: VSTM) is a late-stage development
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 RAS/MAPK-driven
cancers, specifically novel small molecule drugs that inhibit
critical signaling pathways in cancer that promote cancer cell
survival and tumor growth, including RAF/MEK inhibition and FAK
inhibition. For more information, please visit www.verastem.com and
follow us on LinkedIn.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements about,
among other things, Verastem Oncology’s programs and product
candidates, strategy, future plans and prospects, including
statements related to the expected outcome and benefits of its
collaboration with GenFleet Therapeutics (Shanghai), Inc.
(“GenFleet”), the timing of commencing and completing trials,
including topline data reports, interactions with regulators, the
potential for the commercialization of product candidates, plans to
initiate development studies outside of China and other 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. Forward-looking
statements are not guarantees of future performance and are 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 avutometinib in combination with other
compounds, including defactinib, LUMAKRAS and others; the
uncertainties inherent in research and development, such as
negative or unexpected results of clinical trials, the occurrence
or timing of applications for our product candidates that may be
filed with regulatory authorities in any jurisdictions; whether and
when regulatory authorities in any jurisdictions may approve any
such applications that may be filed for our product candidates,
and, if approved, whether our product candidates will be
commercially successful in such jurisdictions; 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 trial design, labeling and other matters that
could affect the timing, 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; the market opportunities
of our drug candidates are based on internal and third-party
estimates which may prove to be incorrect; 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, which may delay our
development programs, including delays in submission or review by
the FDA of our NDA submission in recurrent KRAS mutant LGSOC if
enrollment in our confirmatory trial is not well underway at the
time of submission; that our product candidates will cause adverse
safety events and/or unexpected concerns may arise from additional
data or analysis, or result in unmanageable safety profiles as
compared to their levels of efficacy; that we maybe unable to
successfully validate, develop and obtain regulatory approval for
companion diagnostic tests for our product candidates that require
or would commercially benefit from such tests, or experience
significant delays in doing so; that the mature RAMP 201 data and
associated discussions with the FDA may not support the scope of
our rolling NDA submission for the avutometinib and defactinib
combination in LGSOC, including with respect to KRAS wild type
LGSOC; that our product candidates may experience manufacturing or
supply interruptions or failures; that any of our third-party
contract research organizations, contract manufacturing
organizations, clinical sites, or contractors, among others, who we
rely on fail to fully perform; that we face substantial
competition, which may result in others developing or
commercializing products before or more successfully than we do
which could result in reduced market share or market potential for
our product candidates; 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, including as a result of conducting
additional studies or our decisions regarding execution of such
commercialization; that we may not have sufficient cash to fund our
contemplated operations , including certain of our product
development programs; that we may not attract and retain high
quality personnel; that we or Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. will
fail to fully perform under the avutometinib license agreement;
that our total addressable and target markets for our product
candidates might be smaller than we are presently estimating; that
Secura Bio, Inc. will fail to fully perform under the asset
purchase agreement with Secura Bio, Inc., including in relation to
milestone payments; that we will not see a return on investment on
the payments we have and may continue to make pursuant to the
collaboration and option agreement with GenFleet or that GenFleet
will fail to fully perform under the agreement; that we may not be
able to establish new or expand on existing collaborations or
partnerships, including with respect to in-licensing of our product
candidates, on favorable terms, or at all; 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 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.
As a result of these and other factors, we may not achieve the
plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in our forward-looking
statements, and you should not place undue reliance on our
forward-looking statements. 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, 2023, as
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March
14, 2024, and in any subsequent filings with the SEC, which are
available at www.sec.gov and www.verastem.com.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240712883632/en/
For Investor and Media Inquiries: Julissa Viana Vice
President, Corporate Communications and Investor Relations
investors@verastem.com or media@verastem.com
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