On September 28, 2023 Verastem Oncology, (Nasdaq: VSTM), a biopharmaceutical company committed to advancing new medicines for patients with cancer, reported the presentation of scientific background and clinical trial updates on the avutometinib and defactinib programs at the 5th Annual RAS-Targeted Drug Development Summit in Boston, Massachusetts (Press release, Verastem, SEP 28, 2023, View Source [SID1234635518]). The updates are part of two oral presentations by Jonathan Pachter, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer and Louis Denis, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Verastem Oncology. The first presentation titled "Vertical Inhibition of RAS, RAF & MEK: Enhancing Antitumor Efficacy of KRAS G12C & G12D Inhibitors with RAF/MEK Clamp Avutometinib", includes scientific rationale for clinical combinations with avutometinib and defactinib in various RAS pathway-driven cancers. The second presentation titled, "Introducing Rational Combinations of RAF/MEK Clamp Avutometinib: Breakthrough Therapy Designation & Beyond," discusses novel combination treatment approaches and provides an overview of the avutometinib and defactinib clinical development program.
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The clinical presentation includes updated FRAME study efficacy data showing an overall response rate (ORR) of 42% (11 of 26) in evaluable patients with low grade serous ovarian cancer (LGSOC) (n=26). Among patients with KRAS mutant LGSOC (n=12), the ORR was 58% (7 of 12), compared to patients with KRAS wild-type LGSOC (n=12), the ORR was 33% (4 of 12). Across all LGSOC patients, the median duration of response was 26.9 months (95% CI: 8.5-47.3) while median progression free survival (PFS) was 20.0 months (95% CI: 11.1-31.2). As of the July 2023 data cutoff date, 19% of patients (5 of 26) were still on study treatment with a minimum follow-up of 17 months.
"We are encouraged that the high rate and long duration of objective responses in the recurrent LGSOC cohort of the FRAME study continue to provide foundational proof-of-concept supporting Breakthrough Therapy Designation for the combination of avutometinib and defactinib," said Dan Paterson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Verastem Oncology.
The FRAME study, led by Professor Udai Banerji, MBBS, MD, DNB, PhD, FRCP, Deputy Director of the Drug Development Unit at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, is an ongoing investigator-sponsored trial evaluating avutometinib in combination with defactinib among patients with advanced solid tumors, including recurrent LGSOC. The Company recently reported results of Part A of RAMP 201 in recurrent LGSOC including confirmed ORR by blinded independent central review of 45% (13/29; 95% CI: 26%,64%) with a tolerable safety profile at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) (Free ASCO Whitepaper) 2023 Annual Meeting. The median duration of response and median PFS from RAMP 201 Part A were not yet reached at the time of the ASCO (Free ASCO Whitepaper) 2023 presentation.