FDA Lifts Partial Clinical Hold on the TakeAim Lymphoma Study of Emavusertib
(PRNewsfoto/Curis, Inc.)
NEWS PROVIDED BY
Curis, Inc.
Aug 18, 2022, 08:00 ET
SHARE THIS ARTICLE
Curis working with clinical sites to resume enrollment
Preliminary clinical data update expected in 2023
LEXINGTON, Mass., Aug. 18, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Curis, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRIS), a biotechnology company focused on the development of innovative therapeutics for the treatment of cancer, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has lifted the partial clinical hold on the TakeAim Lymphoma Phase 1/2 study of emavusertib after reviewing the comprehensive data package submitted by Curis.
"We are excited to announce that FDA has completed its review of the TakeAim Lymphoma study and has lifted the partial clinical hold. We are working with our clinical sites to quickly resume enrollment of new patients in this study in the third quarter," said James Dentzer, President and Chief Executive Officer of Curis.
Previously, Curis announced that the FDA had placed separate partial clinical holds on the TakeAim Leukemia and TakeAim Lymphoma studies on April 4 and April 11, 2022, respectively. The partial hold on the TakeAim Leukemia study was issued by the FDA Division of Hematologic Malignancies 1 (DHM1), which regulates clinical studies in leukemia. The partial hold on the TakeAim Lymphoma study, and the lifting of that hold, was issued by the FDA Division of Hematologic Malignancies 2 (DHM2), which regulates clinical studies in lymphoma. The partial clinical hold was lifted following agreement with the FDA on Curis's strategy for rhabdomyolysis identification and management, as well as on the enrollment of at least nine additional patients at the 200 mg dose level of emavusertib in combination with ibrutinib.
With the partial clinical hold lifted on the TakeAim Lymphoma study, the Company is updating its timeline for clinical data release to reflect the availability of updated preliminary data from this study in 2023. In addition, Curis is proactively discussing the clinical plans for emavusertib, including alignment on optimal dose and development path, with DHM2 for the TakeAim Lymphoma study.
About Emavusertib (CA-4948)
Emavusertib is an IRAK4 kinase inhibitor and IRAK4 plays an essential role in the toll-like receptor (TLR) and interleukin-1 receptor (IL-1R) signaling pathways, which are frequently dysregulated in patients with cancer. TLRs and the IL-1R family signal through the adaptor protein MYD88, which results in the assembly and activation of IRAK4, initiating a signaling cascade that induces cytokine and survival factor expression mediated by the NF-?B protein complex. Additionally, third parties have recently discovered that the long form of IRAK4 (IRAK4-L) is oncogenic and preferentially expressed in over half of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). The overexpression of IRAK4-L is believed to be driven by a variety of factors, including specific spliceosome mutations such as SF3B1 and U2AF1. In addition to inhibiting IRAK4, emavusertib was also designed to inhibit FLT3, a known oncologic driver, which may provide additional benefit in patients with AML and MDS.
About TakeAim Leukemia
The TakeAim Leukemia study (NCT04278768) is a Phase 1/2 open-label dose escalation, dose expansion clinical trial investigating emavusertib as a monotherapy and in combination with azacitidine or venetoclax in patients with relapsed or refractory (R/R) AML or high risk MDS. After dose escalation in both monotherapy and combination therapy to determine the recommended Phase 2 dose (RP2D), we plan to expand five cohorts: monotherapy in AML patients with spliceosome and FLT3 mutations, monotherapy in patients with MDS and spliceosome mutations and combination therapy with azacitidine or venetoclax in patients without spliceosome or FLT3 mutations. The goals of the study are to determine several parameters including safety, maximum tolerated dose (MTD), RP2D and signals of activity.
About TakeAim Lymphoma
