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Sunday, December 2, 2018

Kura Has Proof of Concept in Lymphoma, Validation of Therapeutic Target at ASH


-Two CRs, four PRs (46% ORR) observed in advanced AITL patients in Phase 2 trial of tipifarnib in PTCL –
– AITL and other PTCL patients with high CXCL12 expression experienced 50% ORR and 90% clinical benefit with tipifarnib after median of three prior therapies –
– High expression of CXCL12 observed in approximately 40% of PTCL and was associated with poor prognosis for standard-of-care therapy –
– Management to host webcast today at 11:30 p.m. ET / 8:30 p.m. PT –
 Kura Oncology, Inc. (Nasdaq: KURA), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of precision medicines for oncology, reported preliminary data in angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AITL) and CXCL12+ peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL), the two expansion cohorts in its Phase 2 clinical trial of its lead drug candidate tipifarnib in patients with relapsed or refractory PTCL.
The data, presented today at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting in San Diego, showed encouraging activity with tipifarnib in late-stage PTCL patients, including a significant association between CXCL12 expression and clinical benefit, and proof of concept in AITL, an aggressive form of T-cell lymphoma often characterized by high levels of CXCL12 expression. A copy of the poster is available on the Company’s website at www.kuraoncology.com.
“The mechanism of action of farnesyl transferase inhibitors has remained elusive for several decades,” said Antonio Gualberto, M.D., Ph.D., Head of Development and Chief Medical Officer of Kura Oncology. “Our initial data in HRAS mutant head and neck cancer provided strong evidence of activity in tumors driven by this oncogene. However, many other tumors such as T- and B-cell lymphomas, myeloid leukemias, pancreatic or breast cancers, in which anecdotal evidence of tipifarnib activity has been reported, do not usually carry HRAS mutations. We believe the preliminary results reported at ASH validate our observation that the CXCL12 pathway is a therapeutic target of tipifarnib and provide a potential path to expand the development of tipifarnib well beyond HRAS mutant solid tumors by using CXCL12-related biomarkers to enrich for patients most likely to benefit from treatment. We will continue our efforts to identify these patient subsets and to bring this important drug candidate to patients in need.”
As of November 21, 2018, a total of 39 patients were enrolled in the ongoing Phase 2 trial, including 19 patients with AITL (16 patients in the AITL extension cohort and 3 patients in the previous portion of the study). Six of the 16 AITL patients were not evaluable as of the data cutoff date, including two who were pending initial efficacy assessments. Of the 13 evaluable AITL patients, two achieved a complete response (CR) and four achieved a partial response (PR), for an objective response rate (ORR) of 46% (six of 13). According to the study protocol, the AITL cohort is considered positive when four or more responses are observed.
The study also identified a particularly responsive subset within AITL and non-AITL patients. Specifically, patients with a high ratio of expression of CXCL12 to its receptor CXCR4 experienced a 50% ORR (five of 10) and a 90% clinical benefit rate (nine of 10 with either complete response, partial response or stable disease) with tipifarnib. Patients in this Phase 2 trial had a median of three prior lines of therapy (range 1-7). The high CXCL12/CXCR4 expression ratio had 90% sensitivity and 93% specificity to identify PTCL patients likely to benefit from tipifarnib.
Webcast Information
Kura’s management will host a webcast at 11:30 p.m. ET / 8:30 p.m. PT today, December 2, 2018, following the conclusion of the poster presentation at the ASH 2018 Annual Meeting. The live audio webcast and slides of the presentation will be available from the Investors and Media section of the company website at www.kuraoncology.com, and will be archived there for 30 days.

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