Kura Oncology Reports Updated Clinical Activity Data in Ongoing Phase 2 Tipifarinib Trial

Kura Oncology, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of precision medicines for oncology, announced updated results from the ongoing, Phase 2 trial of tipifarnib, a selective inhibitor of farnesyl transferase, and additional preclinical data in HRAS mutant squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck (SCCHN). The data were presented today at the 15^th International Congress on Targeted Anticancer Therapies (TAT 2017) in Paris, France.

This update on the patients in the first stage of the second cohort of the Phase 2 clinical trial in HRAS mutant tumors reported that, as of February 28, 2017, the two patients with HRAS mutant SCCHN with objective responses remain on study and are currently at treatment cycle 19 and cycle 12. Among the five patients with HRAS mutant salivary gland cancer, although no objective responses were observed, three patients experienced disease stabilization and were on study for 9, 10 and 14 cycles. In addition, tipifarnib was generally well tolerated with adverse events consistent with its known safety profile.

“The durability of the responses we have observed with tipifarnib is compelling considering the setting of relapsed and/or refractory SCCHN,” said Alan L. Ho, M.D., Ph.D., a medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and a lead investigator on the study. “These data reinforce the relevance of testing for HRAS mutations in these patients.”

“We are very encouraged by the durable responses we have observed in patients with relapsed and/or refractory HRAS mutant SCCHN who are treated with tipifarnib,” said Troy Wilson, Ph.D., J.D., President and CEO of Kura Oncology. “The two patients with partial responses have now been on treatment with tipifarnib for more than 16 months and 10 months, respectively. Recruitment of patients with SCCHN has become more challenging in the United States with the approval of immune therapy agents. To facilitate enrollment in the second stage of our trial we are adding additional clinical sites in Western Europe and Asia, and are working with third party laboratories to facilitate HRAS screening. We anticipate that additional results from this ongoing Phase 2 trial of tipifarnib in HRAS mutant SCCHN will be available during the second half of 2017.”