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Curis Announces Initiation of Investigator-Sponsored Phase 2 LUCAS Study of CA-4948 for the Treatment of Anemia in Patients with Very Low, Low, or Intermediate-Risk Myelodysplastic Syndromes
- Phase 2 study sponsored by investigators at Universität Leipzig in Germany - LEXINGTON, Mass., Feb. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Curis, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRIS), a
About this update from Curis, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"- Phase 2 study sponsored by investigators at Universität Leipzig in Germany -\n\n\n LEXINGTON, Mass., Feb. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Curis, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRIS), a biotechnology company focused on the development of innovative therapeutics for the treatment of cancer, today announced the initiation of a Phase 2 investigator-sponsored trial (IST) evaluating CA-4948, a novel, small molecule IRAK4 kinase inhibitor, for the treatment of anemia in patients with very low, low, or intermediate-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). The study is being led by Uwe Platzbecker, M.D., Ph.D., Professor and Director of the Medical Clinic and Polyclinic for Hematology, Cell Therapy, and Hemostaseology at the University Hospital in Leipzig. Dr. Platzbecker is co-founder and chairman of both the European Myelodysplastic Syndromes Cooperative Group (EMSCO) and the German MDS Study Group (D-MDS). Furthermore, he acts as co-chairman of the European Hematology Association's Scientific Working Group on MDS.\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n\"Following the very promising preliminary data we presented in December in patients with relapsed/refractory AML and high-risk MDS, we are eager to further explore if CA-4948 may also provide benefit in other indications, including in MDS patients with lower risk profiles. To that end, we are excited to collaborate with Dr. Platzbecker, a renowned MDS clinician,\" said James Dentzer, President and Chief Executive Officer of Curis. \"This IST, along with the previously announced CRADA with the NCI, will enable us to leverage the resources of large, highly regarded institutions as we continue to advance and broaden our IRAK4 clinical program.\"\n\"As we have learned through intensified surveillance strategies for asymptomatic lower-risk MDS, there is a distinct need for safe treatments to modify the natural history of early MDS before it progresses to AML. These patients often have higher genetic risk prognoses, worsening cytopenia, an increase in the number of circulating or bone marrow blasts, and signs of cytogenetic evolution,\" said Dr. Platzbecker, the lead investigator on the LUCAS study. \"Current therapies that target anemia in genetically defined lower-risk MDS with erythropoiesis stimulating agents are effective, but transient, often ending in progression and disease complications. As a direct, non-myelosuppressive...