CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 7, 2008--Curis, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRIS), a drug development company focused on developing proprietary targeted medicines primarily for cancer treatment, today announced that Curis scientists presented a poster entitled "Design and synthesis of quinazoline derivatives as novel, potent multi-acting HDAC and receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors for the treatment of cancer," at the 235th American Chemical Society (ACS) National Meeting, which is being held at the Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, April 6-10.
The presentation described the strategic compound design and research underlying the development of proprietary drug compounds belonging to a class of chemical structures called quinazolines. These compounds were designed to inhibit multiple validated biological targets known to play key roles in the development and maintenance of certain cancers. This compound class is designed to inhibit the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and its related family member, Her2, in addition to histone deacetylase (HDAC). CUDC-101, Curis' first development candidate from its targeted cancer drug development platform, emerged from this class of compounds and is the first-in-class inhibitor of EGFR, Her2 and HDAC.
"We are extremely pleased with the innovation of our scientists behind the design of this class of compounds, which includes CUDC-101, a drug candidate that we believe may represent a significant advancement over existing drugs that inhibit EGFR and/or Her2," commented Daniel R. Passeri, MSc., J.D., President and Chief Executive Officer. "With increasing trends toward combination therapies for the treatment of cancer, the targeting of EGFR, Her2 and HDAC in a single drug such as CUDC-101 could potentially provide cancer patients with the advantages of pathway synergies without the cost and administration burdens associated with the delivery of multiple separate drugs."
The ACS presentation discussed the design of this chemical class, presenting structure and activity relationship requirements, along with pre-clinical data demonstrating CUDC-101's potency and efficacy across 30 different cancer cell lines and several animal xenograft models, collectively including lung, liver, colon, pancreas, breast and other cancers. The presentation provided data showing greater efficacy of CUDC-101 in comparison to marketed HDAC, EGFR and dual EGFR/Her2 inhibitors, when such drugs are administered either alone or in combination. Of particular interest is CUDC-101's compelling activity in preclinical xenograft cancer models of cell lines that are resistant to inhibitors that target only EGFR and/or Her2.
EGFR and Her2, members of a family of proteins called receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs), have been targets of interest to cancer drug development companies for their role in the uncontrolled growth and proliferation of tumor cells. Generally, drugs on the market or in development that specifically target EGFR and/or Her2 have faced problems of acquired drug resistance and limited responsiveness in patient populations. Curis' unique approach aims to circumvent these issues by developing multi-targeted compounds that are chemically designed to inhibit EGFR, Her2 and HDAC activities simultaneously. Curis' proprietary data and published reports have shown that HDAC inhibition might overcome some of the limitations of currently used receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors by providing enhanced potency and potentially reducing the occurrence of drug resistance.
About Curis, Inc.
Curis is a drug development company that is committed to leveraging its innovative signaling pathway drug technologies to seek to create new medicines, primarily for cancer. In expanding its drug development efforts in the field of cancer through its targeted cancer drug development platform, Curis is building upon its previous experiences in targeting signaling pathways in the areas of cancer, neurological disease and cardiovascular disease. For more information, visit Curis' website at www.curis.com.
Cautionary Statement: This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including without limitation: statements regarding Curis' belief that CUDC-101 may potentially represent a significant advancement over existing drugs that inhibit EGFR and/or Her2 and Curis' expectation of treating the first patient treated with CUDC-101 in the first half of 2008. Forward-looking statements used in this press release may contain the words "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "plans", "seeks", "estimates", "will", "may" or similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from those indicated by such forward-looking statements including, among other things:
-- adverse results, delays and/or failures in the Company's
internal product development programs, including without
limitation unplanned delays and/or failures in the Company's
efforts to file an investigative new drug application and
further advance its product candidate, CUDC-101, and the other
programs under its targeted cancer drug development platform;
-- adverse results, delays and/or failures in the Hedgehog
pathway antagonist program currently under clinical
development by the Company's collaborator, Genentech, for
which the Company may have no foreknowledge and over which the
Company will have no control;
-- difficulties or delays in obtaining or maintaining required
regulatory approvals for products being developed by the
Company internally and through its collaboration with
Genentech;
-- Curis' ability to obtain or maintain the patent and other
proprietary intellectual property protection necessary for the
development and commercialization of products based on its
technologies;
-- changes in, or Curis' inability to execute, its business plan;
-- the risk that the Company does not obtain the substantial
additional funding required to conduct research and
development of its product candidates;
-- unplanned cash requirements and expenditures which, among
other things, could shorten the estimated period in which the
Company will have cash to fund its operations and which could
also adversely affect the Company's estimated operating
expenses for 2008 and beyond;
-- risks relating to the Company's ability to enter into and
maintain important strategic collaborations, including its
current collaboration with Genentech, and the risk that any
such collaborators will not perform adequately;
-- competitive pressures; and
-- other risk factors identified in the Quarterly Report on Form
10-Q for the Quarter ended September 30, 2007 and other
filings that the Company periodically makes with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
In addition, any forward-looking statements represent the views only as of today and should not be relied upon as representing the views as of any subsequent date. Curis disclaims any intention or obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
CONTACT: Curis, Inc.
Michael P. Gray, 617-503-6632
Chief Financial Officer
mgray@curis.com
SOURCE: Curis, Inc.