On April 20, 2020 Verastem, Inc. (Nasdaq:VSTM) (also known as Verastem Oncology), a biopharmaceutical company committed to developing and commercializing new medicines for patients battling cancer, reported that management will host an investor conference call to discuss the clinical data from the ongoing investigator-initiated study investigating VS-6766, its RAF/MEK inhibitor, in combination with defactinib, its FAK inhibitor, in patients with KRAS mutant advanced solid tumors (Press release, Verastem, APR 20, 2020, View Source [SID1234556431]). The conference call coincides with the presentation of this data at the upcoming American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (Free AACR Whitepaper) 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting I. The investor conference call is scheduled for Monday, April 27, 2020 at 8:00 a.m. ET.

Schedule your 30 min Free 1stOncology Demo!
Discover why more than 1,500 members use 1stOncology™ to excel in:

Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

                  Schedule Your 30 min Free Demo!

The call will feature members of the Company’s management team and Udai Banerji, MBBS, MD, DNB, PhD, FRCP, NIHR Professor of Molecular Cancer Pharmacology at The Institute of Cancer Research and Honorary Consultant in Medical Oncology at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, and lead investigator of the clinical study. This is an ongoing investigator-initiated open label, dose escalation and expansion study. Expansion cohorts are currently ongoing in patients with KRAS mutant advanced solid tumors, including low grade serous ovarian cancer (LGSOC), non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and colorectal cancer (CRC).

Verastem Oncology plans to initiate discussions with regulatory authorities during the first half of 2020, with the goal of commencing a registration-directed trial investigating the VS-6766/defactinib combination as soon as possible.

Details for the AACR (Free AACR Whitepaper) 2020 Virtual Meeting I presentation are as follows:

Title: Phase 1 study of the combination of a RAF-MEK inhibitor CH5126766 and FAK inhibitor defactinib in an intermittent dosing schedule with expansions in KRAS mutant cancers
Lead author: Udai Banerji, Institute of Cancer Research and The Royal Marsden
Poster #: CT143
Session: VPO.CT01 – Phase I Clinical Trials
Date and Time: Monday, April 27, 2020; 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET
URL: View Source!/9045/presentation/10642

Conference Call and Webcast Information

The Verastem Oncology management team will host a conference call and webcast on Monday, April 27, 2020, at 8:00 AM ET to discuss the Phase 1 RAF/MEK/FAK combination data. The call can be accessed by dialing (877) 341-5660 (U.S. and Canada) or (315) 625-3226 (international), five minutes prior to the start of the call and providing the passcode 8390795.

The live, listen-only webcast of the conference call can be accessed by visiting the investors section of the Company’s website at www.verastem.com. A replay of the webcast will be archived on the Company’s website for 90 days following the call.

About VS-6766

VS-6766 (formerly known as CH5126766, CKI27 and RO5126766) is a unique inhibitor of the RAF/MEK signaling pathway. In contrast to other MEK inhibitors in development, VS-6766 blocks both MEK kinase activity and the ability of RAF to phosphorylate MEK. This unique mechanism allows VS-6766 to block MEK signaling without the compensatory activation of MEK that appears to limit the efficacy of other inhibitors. The combination of VS-6766 and the focal adhesion kinase (FAK) inhibitor defactinib is currently being investigated in a Phase 1 dose escalation and expansion study. The expansion cohorts are currently ongoing in patients with KRAS mutant advanced solid tumors, including low grade serous ovarian cancer (LGSOC), non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and colorectal cancer (CRC).1 The ongoing clinical study of the VS-6766/defactinib combination is supported by single-agent Phase 2 studies which investigated defactinib in KRAS mutant NSCLC2 and VS-6766 in KRAS mutant NSCLC and LGSOC.3

About Defactinib

Defactinib is an oral small molecule inhibitor of FAK and PYK2 that is currently being evaluated as a potential combination therapy for various solid tumors. The Company has received Orphan Drug designation for defactinib in ovarian cancer and mesothelioma in the US, EU and Australia. Preclinical research by Verastem Oncology scientists and collaborators at world-renowned research institutions has described the effect of FAK inhibition to enhance immune response by decreasing immuno-suppressive cells, increasing cytotoxic T cells, and reducing stromal density, which allows tumor-killing immune cells to enter the tumor.4,5 Additionally, in both preclinical and clinical studies, FAK activation has been shown to occur as a potential resistance mechanism in response to MEK inhibitor treatment, and synergy of a FAK inhibitor with a RAF/MEK inhibitor has been shown in several preclinical models. The combination of defactinib and VS-6766 is currently being investigated in a Phase 1 dose escalation and expansion study. The expansion cohorts are currently ongoing in patients with KRAS mutant advanced solid tumors, including low grade serous ovarian cancer (LGSOC), non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and colorectal cancer (CRC).1 The ongoing clinical study of the VS-6766/defactinib combination is supported by single-agent Phase 2 studies which investigated defactinib in KRAS mutant NSCLC2 and VS-6766 in KRAS mutant NSCLC and LGSOC.3 Defactinib is also in clinical testing in combination with pembrolizumab for treatment of patients with pancreatic cancer, NSCLC and mesothelioma.6