On February 1, 2022 Biomea Fusion, Inc. ("Biomea") (Nasdaq: BMEA), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of novel irreversible small molecules to treat and improve the lives of patients with genetically defined cancers and metabolic diseases, reported the appointment of Steve Morris, M.D. as Chief Medical Officer (CMO) (Press release, Biomea Fusion, FEB 1, 2022, View Source [SID1234607558]). Dr. Morris, who has been serving as a clinical consultant to Biomea since 2020, will now lead the clinical development of BMF-219, an irreversible covalent menin inhibitor, as well as the company’s additional planned clinical programs. BMF-219 is currently in a Phase I clinical trial for the treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory acute leukemias, including those with MLL1/KMT2A gene rearrangements or NPM1 mutations. In January 2022, Biomea announced that it plans to initiate clinical studies of BMF-219 in up to seven liquid and solid tumor types –acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), multiple myeloma (MM), diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), pancreatic cancer, and colorectal cancer– as well as diabetes.
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"I am thrilled with Steve’s decision to join Biomea full-time as the company’s first CMO," said Thomas Butler, Biomea’s CEO and Chairman of the Board. "Steve is an internationally recognized physician-scientist and translational investigator with over 30 years of clinical and academic research expertise. Through his first-hand experience interrogating the role that menin plays in aggressive cancers both as a researcher and as a practicing oncologist, Steve has a unique perspective on how BMF-219 may benefit patients suffering from genetically driven liquid and solid tumors. He played a critical role in orchestrating our rapid advancement of BMF-219 into the clinic, and we look forward to his continued contributions in this new capacity as our CMO."
Prior to embarking on a career in the biopharmaceutical industry in 2012, Dr. Morris served on the staff at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for 25 years. In addition to working as a clinician, he led a basic and translational research laboratory at St. Jude, which discovered and characterized oncogenes that cause a variety of human cancers, most notably anaplastic lymphoma kinase, or ALK. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved several ALK inhibitors, the development of which were based on Dr. Morris’ groundbreaking work. Dr. Morris also performed translational research at St. Jude regarding menin-driven leukemias (one of several menin-driven oncology indications being pursued by Biomea) and treated many patients with these malignancies during his career as a practicing oncologist.
"I am excited to continue the extraordinary work we have done at Biomea over the last two years translating the promise of Biomea’s Fusion platform, which allows the rapid targeting of validated cancer biology with breakthrough covalent chemistry, to advance the company’s first clinical-stage irreversible covalent inhibitor, BMF-219," said Dr. Morris. "With the potential to dose patients in up to seven distinct tumor types with BMF-219 in the coming months, 2022 will be a transformational year for Biomea. I look forward to continuing to execute on the robust clinical development plan we announced to further our collective goal of providing effective targeted treatments for patients with limited therapeutic options."
Since leaving academic medicine, Dr. Morris has served as a consultant or CMO for multiple oncology-focused biotech startups, including Biomea. He is a member of the medical honor society Alpha Omega Alpha, an American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) Young Investigator Award winner, and an inductee into the American Society for Clinical Investigation. Dr. Morris earned his MD from Louisiana State University Health Science Center, completed an internal medicine residency at the University of Texas Southwestern Health Science Center, and completed training in medical oncology at Yale University School of Medicine.