Kura Oncology Appoints Teresa Bair as Chief Legal Officer

Rhea-AI Summary

Kura Oncology (Nasdaq: KURA) has appointed Teresa Bair as Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary. Bair brings over 25 years of legal experience, recently serving as General Counsel at Athenex, where she assisted in multiple NDA filings and an FDA approval. Kura's President, Troy Wilson, emphasized her expertise in drug development, crucial for advancing their oncology drug pipeline. Kura focuses on precision medicines for cancer, with pipeline candidates like KO-539 and tipifarnib, which has gained Breakthrough Therapy Designation.

Positive

• Teresa Bair's extensive legal experience, particularly in drug development, adds value to Kura's leadership team.
• Bair's history with Athenex includes significant contributions to NDA filings and FDA approvals, enhancing Kura's potential for future successes.

Negative

• No significant negative points identified.

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 18, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kura Oncology, Inc. (Nasdaq: KURA), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to realizing the promise of precision medicines for the treatment of cancer, today announced the appointment of Teresa Bair as Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary. Ms. Bair joins Kura with more than 25 years of combined in-house and law firm experience, most recently as General Counsel at Athenex.

“On behalf of our board and senior leadership team, we want to extend a warm welcome to Teresa,” said Troy Wilson, Ph.D., J.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Kura Oncology. “She brings a breadth of expertise across a range of legal and business activities, and her experience with drug development ranging from discovery to approval will be invaluable as we continue to advance our pipeline of small molecule oncology drug candidates in areas of high unmet need.”

Ms. Bair joins Kura from Athenex, where she served most recently as General Counsel and Senior Vice President, Administration. She played a key role in leading the organization through its evolution from a private, preclinical-stage company to a global, publicly traded biopharmaceutical company, directly contributing to multiple NDA filings and an FDA approval. Previously, she was a partner at Harris Beach PLLC, advising business clients, including Fortune 500 companies, across diverse industries on commercial litigation matters. Ms. Bair serves on the Boards of Directors of BirchBioMed Inc., the University at Buffalo Law Alumni Association and the Western New York Women’s Foundation. She also serves on the Board of Trustees of the University at Buffalo Foundation as well as the Advisory Boards of Varia Ventures and the Buffalo Institute for Genomics & Data Analytics. She earned her J.D. from State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law and her B.S. in Business Administration from Bowling Green State University.

“I am excited to join Kura, a company well positioned to be a leader in the development of precision medicines for the treatment of cancers,” said Ms. Bair. “I look forward to working alongside this exceptional team to help execute its strategy, achieve its milestones and drive the next phase of growth.”

About Kura Oncology

Kura Oncology is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to realizing the promise of precision medicines for the treatment of cancer. The Company’s pipeline consists of small molecule drug candidates that target cancer signaling pathways. KO-539, a potent and selective menin inhibitor, is currently in a Phase 1b clinical trial (KOMET-001) for patients with relapsed/refractory AML, including patients with NPM1 mutations or KMT2A rearrangements. Tipifarnib, a potent, selective and orally bioavailable farnesyl transferase inhibitor, has received Breakthrough Therapy Designation for the treatment of patients with HRAS mutant HNSCC and is currently in a registration-directed study (AIM-HN) in patients with this devastating disease. In addition, Kura is pursuing the use of tipifarnib in combination with other oncology therapeutics to address larger genetic subsets of patients, including those who have HRAS- and/or PIK3CA-dependent HNSCC. The Company is also developing KO-2806, a next-generation farnesyl transferase inhibitor, which is intended to target innovative biology and larger oncology indications through rational combinations. For additional information about Kura, please visit the Company’s website at www.kuraoncology.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains certain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to be materially different from historical results or from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include statements regarding, among other things, the efficacy, safety and therapeutic potential of Kura’s product candidates, tipifarnib, KO-539 and KO-2806, progress and expected timing of Kura’s drug development programs and clinical trials and submission of regulatory filings, the presentation of data from clinical trials, plans regarding regulatory filings and future clinical trials, the regulatory approval path for tipifarnib, the strength of Kura’s balance sheet and the adequacy of cash on hand. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially include the risk that compounds that appeared promising in early research or clinical trials do not demonstrate safety and/or efficacy in later preclinical studies or clinical trials, the risk that Kura may not obtain approval to market its product candidates, uncertainties associated with performing clinical trials, regulatory filings, applications and other interactions with regulatory bodies, risks associated with reliance on third parties to successfully conduct clinical trials, the risks associated with reliance on outside financing to meet capital requirements, and other risks associated with the process of discovering, developing and commercializing drugs that are safe and effective for use as human therapeutics, and in the endeavor of building a business around such drugs. You are urged to consider statements that include the words “may,” “will,” “would,” “could,” “should,” “believes,” “estimates,” “projects,” “promise,” “potential,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “continues,” “designed,” “goal,” or the negative of those words or other comparable words to be uncertain and forward-looking. For a further list and description of the risks and uncertainties the Company faces, please refer to the Company's periodic and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available at www.sec.gov. Such forward-looking statements are current only as of the date they are made, and Kura assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Contacts

Company:
Pete De Spain
Vice President, Investor Relations &
Corporate Communications
(858) 500-8803
pete@kuraoncology.com

Investors:
Robert H. Uhl
Managing Director
Westwicke ICR
(858) 356-5932
robert.uhl@westwicke.com

Media:
Jason Spark
Managing Director
Canale Communications
(619) 849-6005
jason@canalecomm.com

FAQ

Who is Teresa Bair, and what role has she taken at Kura Oncology?

Teresa Bair has been appointed as Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary at Kura Oncology, bringing over 25 years of legal experience.

What previous experience does Teresa Bair have that is relevant to her new position at Kura?

Before joining Kura, Teresa Bair served as General Counsel at Athenex, where she played a key role in leading the company through NDA filings and FDA approvals.

How might Teresa Bair's appointment impact Kura's drug development efforts?

Bair's expertise in legal and business matters, particularly in drug development, is expected to strengthen Kura's strategic direction and execution of its oncology pipeline.

What is Kura Oncology's focus in the biopharmaceuticals industry?

Kura Oncology is dedicated to developing precision medicines for cancer treatment, with a focus on small molecule drug candidates.

What are the notable drug candidates in Kura's pipeline?

Kura's pipeline includes KO-539, a menin inhibitor in clinical trials, and tipifarnib, which is in a registration-directed study for treating HRAS mutant head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.