On September 6, 2017 Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM), focused on discovering and developing drugs to improve the survival and quality of life of cancer patients, reported the expansion of its duvelisib development program to include targeting the treatment of patients with Peripheral T-Cell Lymphoma (PTCL) (Press release, Verastem, SEP 6, 2017, View Source [SID1234520381]). Duvelisib has been granted Fast Track designation by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of patients with PTCL who have received at least one prior therapy. Duvelisib, Verastem’s lead drug candidate, is an oral inhibitor of phosphoinositide-3-kinase (PI3K)-delta and PI3K-gamma being investigated for the treatment of hematologic cancers, including chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)/small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma (iNHL) and other T cell lymphomas.

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Development of duvelisib in PTCL is supported by compelling Phase 1 clinical data which demonstrated a 50% investigator-assessed overall response rate in 16 heavily pre-treated patients with relapsed or refractory PTCL, including 3 (19%) complete responses and 5 (31%) partial responses. Verastem intends to initiate an open-label, multicenter, Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of duvelisib in patients with relapsed or refractory PTCL by year end 2017. Verastem expects that the Phase 2 study will be conducted in both the U.S. and Japan.
Today, the Company also announced the appointment of Brian Stuglik, RPh, to its Board of Directors. Mr. Stuglik brings to Verastem 35 years of experience in pharmaceutical and oncology commercialization in both the U.S. and international markets. He has successfully launched several multi-billion dollar brands over his career, including Gemzar, Alimta and Erbitux.

"Expansion of the duvelisib clinical development program, and the accompanying receipt of Fast Track designation from the FDA, are important steps in Verastem’s strategy to efficiently develop the potential of duvelisib in additional cancers such as T-cell malignancies," said Robert Forrester, President and Chief Executive Officer of Verastem. "PTCL is a rare and usually aggressive type of NHL where currently available therapies only provide modest benefit. We believe an oral monotherapy like duvelisib could be an important new treatment alternative for patients with T-cell Lymphomas, including PTCL, and we look forward to initiating a Phase 2 study in patients with relapsed or refractory disease by year end."

Mr. Forrester added, "Brian Stuglik is an accomplished executive with significant oncology commercialization expertise who can bring immediate value to Verastem as we now move towards commercializing duvelisib. He brings over 35 years of commercializing important novel oncology drugs together with his extensive external network of clinical thought leaders and deep industry connections. His experience will prove invaluable as we advance duvelisib toward the planned regulatory filing, and potential approval and commercialization."

Most recently, Mr. Stuglik has provided commercial and strategic consultancy services to a variety of life science companies as the founder of Proventus Health Solutions, LLC. Prior to Proventus, he served for over 30 years at Eli Lilly and Company, culminating in his role as Global Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Oncology Global Marketing, and advancing Lilly Oncology from a single brand and approved product to a portfolio of over 6 marketed or late-stage compounds across more than 10 cancer types. While at Lilly, Mr. Stuglik helped lead the efforts to acquire Imclone Systems and later led the integration and transition team for Lilly.

More About Fast Track Designation
The FDA defines Fast Track designation as a process designed to facilitate the development and expedite the review of drugs and biologics, to treat serious or life-threatening conditions, and to fill an unmet medical need. Specifically, Fast Track designation facilitates frequent interactions with the FDA review team, including meetings to discuss all aspects of development to support approval, and also provides the opportunity to submit sections of an NDA on a rolling basis as data become available.

About Peripheral T-Cell Lymphoma
Peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) is a rare, aggressive type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) that develops in mature white blood cells called "T cells" and "natural killer (NK) cells"1 which circulate with the lymphatic system.2 PTCL accounts for between 10-15% of all non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHLs) and generally affects people aged 60 years and older.1 Although there are many different subtypes of peripheral T-cell lymphoma, they often present in a similar way, with widespread, enlarged, painless lymph nodes in the neck, armpit or groin.2 There is currently no established standard of care for patients with relapsed or refractory disease.1

About the Tumor Microenvironment
The tumor microenvironment encompasses multiple tumor and non-tumor cell populations and an extracellular matrix that support cancer cell survival. This includes immunosuppressive regulatory T-cells, myeloid-derived suppressor cells, tumor-associated macrophages, cancer-associated fibroblasts, and extracellular matrix proteins that can hamper the entry and therapeutic benefit of cytotoxic T-cells and anti-cancer drugs. In addition to targeting the proliferative and survival signaling of cancer cells, Verastem’s product candidates, including duvelisib and defactinib, also target the tumor microenvironment to potentially improve response to therapy.

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.3,4,5 Duvelisib is currently being evaluated in late- and mid-stage clinical trials, including DUO, a randomized, Phase 3 monotherapy study in patients with relapsed/refractory CLL/SLL,6 and DYNAMO, a single-arm, Phase 2 monotherapy study in patients with refractory iNHL.7 Both DUO and DYNAMO achieved their primary endpoints upon topline analysis of efficacy data. Duvelisib is also being evaluated for the treatment of hematologic malignancies through investigator-sponsored studies, including T-cell lymphoma.8 Information about duvelisib clinical trials can be found on www.clinicaltrials.gov.