Kura Oncology Presents First Clinical Data for Menin Inhibitor KO-539 at ASH

SAN DIEGO, Dec. 05, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kura Oncology, Inc. (Nasdaq: KURA), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of precision medicines for the treatment of cancer, today announced preliminary clinical data from KOMET-001, an ongoing Phase 1/2A clinical trial of the Company’s oral, potent and selective menin inhibitor, KO-539, including single-agent activity in genetically defined subgroups of patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

These data are being presented during an oral session at the 62nd American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition. A copy of the presentation is available on Kura's website.

“The preliminary first-in-human data generated by KO-539 for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory AML is encouraging,” said Eunice Wang, M.D., Chief of the Leukemia Service at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and principal investigator of the trial. “In addition to a favorable safety and tolerability profile, we have observed evidence of biologic activity in each dose-escalation cohort treated to date. I am delighted to observe evidence of clinical activity in patients with diverse genetic backgrounds, including patients with NPM1 mutations. The preliminary clinical data for KO-539 suggest it has the potential to be effective for multiple genetically defined AML subgroups of high unmet need.”

As of the data cutoff on November 2, 2020, the first-in-human, open-label, multicenter trial enrolled 12 patients with relapsed or refractory AML, of whom eight were evaluable for efficacy. Patients were enrolled into four dose cohorts: 50 mg, 100 mg, 200 mg and 400 mg. KO-539 was administered orally, on a once-daily schedule in continuous 28-day cycles. These patients were heavily pretreated and received a median of three prior lines of therapy (range 2-7). Clinical or biological activity was reported in six of the eight efficacy-evaluable patients.

• Evidence of biologic activity observed in each dose-escalation cohort treated to date
• Clinical activity includes one CR in a patient with a NPM1 mutation and one CR in a patient with a SETD2/RUNX1 mutation
• Continuous daily dosing well tolerated and with manageable safety profile to date 
• Enrollment continues in dose escalation of Phase 1/2A clinical trial in patients with relapsed/refractory AML
• Anticipate recommending Phase 2 dose and advancing into expansion cohorts in first quarter of 2021

Kura expects to determine a maximum tolerated dose and/or a recommended Phase 2 dose in the first quarter of 2021, at which point the Company intends to advance into expansion cohorts in NPM1-mutant AML and KMT2A/MLL-rearranged AML, selected patient populations where KO‑539 has the potential to demonstrate pronounced clinical benefit.

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