BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 2, 2017--
Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM), focused on discovering and developing
drugs to improve the survival and quality of life of cancer patients,
today announced the appointment of Eric K. Rowinsky, MD to its Board of
Directors.
Dr. Rowinsky brings to Verastem nearly 30 years of experience in the
development of cancer treatments, such as cetuximab (Erbitux) when he
was Chief Medical Officer of ImClone Systems, as well as ramucirumab,
necitumumab, paclitaxel, docetaxel, topotecan, erlotinib, irinotecan,
lapatinib, and cixutumumab, among others. Dr. Rowinsky currently serves
on the Board of Directors for several biotechnology and pharmaceutical
companies including Biogen, Inc. Dr. Rowinsky is replacing Dr. Paul
Friedman who is transitioning from his role as Director to become a
member of Verastem’s Clinical and Scientific Advisory Board (CSAB).
“Eric is a highly accomplished biopharmaceutical business leader with
deep product development experience across both clinical-stage and
large, established oncology organizations,” said Michael Kauffman, MD,
PhD, Verastem’s Lead Director. “We expect Eric to add great value to
Verastem as we advance both duvelisib and defactinib toward their
planned clinical, regulatory and commercial milestones. We welcome his
insights particularly as we advance duvelisib towards a potential NDA
filing. Paul has been an integral part of Verastem’s Board since 2014,
and we are extremely thankful for the contributions he has made. We look
forward to continuing to work with him as he transitions to our CSAB.”
“Verastem has the potential to become a commercial-stage company with a
promising treatment for patients with lymphoid malignancies,” said Dr.
Rowinsky. “I am delighted to join the Board of Directors during this
important transition and I look forward to working with the entire
leadership team to contribute to Verastem’s future growth and success.”
Dr. Rowinsky currently serves as the Chief Scientific Officer of
Oncology at ClearPath Development Company, a biotechnology company that
partners with leading biopharmaceutical companies to expand early
product pipeline opportunities. He is also the Executive Director and
President at Rgenix, Inc., a privately-held oncology company, and an
Adjunct Professor of Medicine at New York University. Dr. Rowinsky
served as Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at
Stemline, Inc., a publicly-held oncology company, from 2012 to 2015, and
as Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of ImClone
Systems, Inc., from 2004 to 2010, during which time it became a
wholly-owned subsidiary of Eli Lilly and Company. Dr. Rowinsky has held
several positions, including Director, at the Institute for Drug
Development in San Antonio, Texas, an affiliate of the University of
Texas Health Science Center where he was an Adjunct Professor of
Medicine, and Associate Professor of Oncology at the Johns Hopkins
University School of Medicine. Dr. Rowinsky completed his undergraduate
training at New York University, received his MD from Vanderbilt
University School of Medicine and completed his residency training in
internal medicine at the University of California, San Diego and
fellowship training in medical oncology and drug development from Johns
Hopkins University.
About Duvelisib
Duvelisib is an investigational, dual inhibitor of phosphoinositide
3-kinase (PI3K)-delta and PI3K-gamma, two enzymes that are known to help
support the growth and survival of malignant B-cells and T-cells. PI3K
signaling may lead to the proliferation of malignant B-cells and is
thought to play a role in the formation and maintenance of the
supportive tumor microenvironment.1,2,3 Duvelisib is
currently being evaluated in late- and mid-stage clinical trials,
including DUO™, a randomized, Phase 3 monotherapy study in patients with
relapsed or refractory CLL4, and DYNAMO™, a single-arm, Phase
2 monotherapy study in patients with refractory iNHL that achieved its
primary endpoint of ORR upon top-line analysis of efficacy data.5
Duvelisib is also being evaluated for the treatment of hematologic
malignancies through investigator-sponsored studies, including T-cell
lymphoma.6 Information about duvelisib clinical trials can be
found on www.clinicaltrials.gov.
About Defactinib
Defactinib is an investigational inhibitor of FAK, a non-receptor
tyrosine kinase encoded by the PTK-2 gene that mediates oncogenic
signaling in response to cellular adhesion and growth factors.7
Based on the multi-faceted roles of FAK, defactinib is used to treat
cancer through modulation of the tumor microenvironment, enhancement of
anti-tumor immunity, and reduction of cancer stem cells.8,9
Defactinib is currently being evaluated in combination with
immunotherapeutic agents for the treatment of pancreatic cancer, ovarian
cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, and mesothelioma, in three
combination clinical trials with pembrolizumab or avelumab from Merck &
Co. and Pfizer/Merck KGaA, respectively.10,11,12 Information
about these and additional clinical trials evaluating the safety and
efficacy of defactinib can be found on www.clinicaltrials.gov.
About Verastem, Inc.
Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on
discovering and developing drugs to improve outcomes for patients with
cancer. Verastem is currently developing duvelisib, a dual inhibitor of
PI3K-delta and PI3K-gamma, which has successfully met its primary
endpoint in a Phase 2 study in iNHL and is currently being evaluated in
a Phase 3 clinical trial in patients with CLL. In addition, Verastem is
developing the FAK inhibitor defactinib, which is currently being
evaluated in three separate clinical collaborations in combination with
immunotherapeutic agents for the treatment of several different cancer
types, including pancreatic cancer, ovarian cancer and non-small cell
lung cancer, and mesothelioma. Verastem’s product candidates seek to
treat cancer by modulating the local tumor microenvironment, enhancing
anti-tumor immunity and reducing cancer stem cells. For more
information, please visit www.verastem.com.
Verastem, Inc. forward-looking statements notice:
This press release includes forward-looking statements about Verastem's
strategy, future plans and prospects, including statements regarding the
development and activity of Verastem's investigational product
candidates, including duvelisib and defactinib, and Verastem's PI3K and
FAK programs generally, the structure of our planned and pending
clinical trials and the timeline and indications for clinical
development, and our rights to develop or commercialize our product
candidates. The words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect,"
"intend," "may," "plan," "predict," "project," "target," "potential,"
"will," "would," "could," "should," "continue," 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 that the preclinical testing of Verastem's product candidates
and preliminary or interim data from clinical trials may not be
predictive of the results or success of ongoing or later clinical
trials; that data may not be available when expected; that enrollment of
clinical trials may take longer than expected; that our product
candidates will cause unexpected safety events or result in an
unmanageable safety profile as compared to their level of efficacy; that
duvelisib will be ineffective at treating patients with lymphoid
malignancies; that Verastem will be unable to successfully initiate or
complete the clinical development of its product candidates; that the
development of Verastem's product candidates will take longer or cost
more than planned; that Verastem may not have sufficient cash to fund
its contemplated operations; that Verastem or Infinity Pharmaceuticals,
Inc. will fail to fully perform under the duvelisib license agreement;
that Verastem will not pursue or submit regulatory filings for its
product candidates; and that Verastem's 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 Verastem's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2016 and in any subsequent filings with the U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements contained in
this press release reflect Verastem's views as of the date of this
release, and Verastem does not undertake and specifically disclaims any
obligation to update any forward-looking statements.
References
1 Winkler D.G., Faia K.L., DiNitto J.P. et al. PI3K-delta and
PI3K-gamma inhibition by IPI-145 abrogates immune responses and
suppresses activity in autoimmune and inflammatory disease models. Chem
Biol 2013; 20:1-11.
2 Reif K et al.Cutting Edge: Differential Roles for
Phosphoinositide 3 kinases, p110-gamma and p110-delta, in lymphocyte
chemotaxis and homing. J Immunol 2004:173:2236-2240.
3 Schmid M et al. Receptor Tyrosine Kinases and TLR/IL1Rs
Unexpectedly activate myeloid cell PI3K, a single convergent point
promoting tumor inflammation and progression. Cancer Cell
2011;19:715-727.
4 www.clinicaltrials.gov,
NCT02004522
5 www.clinicaltrials.gov,
NCT01882803
6 www.clinicaltrials.gov,
NCT02783625, NCT02783625, NCT02158091
7Schaller MD and Parsons JT. Focal adhesion kinase: an
integrin-linked protein tyrosine kinase. Trends Cell Biol. 1993 3:
258-62.
8Jiang H et al. Targeting focal adhesion kinase renders
pancreatic cancers responsive to checkpoint immunotherapy. Nat Med 2016:
Aug 22(8) 851-60.
9Sulzmaier FJ et al. FAK in cancer: mechanistic findings and
clinical applications. Nature Rev Cancer. 2014 14: 598-610.
10www.clinicaltrials.gov,
NCT02546531
11www.clinicaltrials.gov,
NCT02943317
12www.clinicaltrials.gov,
NCT02758587
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170502005656/en/
Source: Verastem, Inc.
Verastem, Inc.
Brian Sullivan, 781-292-4214
Director,
Corporate Development
bsullivan@verastem.com