Verastem Oncology Receives FDA Orphan Drug Designation for Avutometinib and Defactinib for the Treatment of Pancreatic Cancer

Rhea-AI Summary

Verastem Oncology (Nasdaq: VSTM) has received FDA Orphan Drug Designation for avutometinib and defactinib in treating pancreatic cancer. This combination therapy, along with standard chemotherapy, showed promising results in the ongoing RAMP 205 trial for first-line metastatic pancreatic cancer. Initial interim data presented at ASCO 2024 revealed an 83% confirmed partial response rate in the dose level 1 cohort. The company plans to report updated data from the trial in Q1 2025. The Orphan Drug Designation recognizes the unmet need in pancreatic cancer treatment and offers benefits such as tax credits and potential market exclusivity.

Positive

• FDA granted Orphan Drug Designation for avutometinib and defactinib in pancreatic cancer treatment
• 83% (5/6) of patients in dose level 1 cohort achieved confirmed partial response
• 21 out of 26 patients across all cohorts experienced reduction in target lesion sum of diameters
• Only one dose-limiting toxicity observed in dose level 1 cohort

Negative

• Updated data from RAMP 205 trial not expected until Q1 2025
• Only patients in dose cohort 1 had minimum follow-up of six months at data cutoff

Insights

Oncology Researcher

The FDA's Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) for avutometinib and defactinib in pancreatic cancer treatment is a significant development. This designation acknowledges the unmet need in pancreatic cancer therapeutics, a notoriously challenging malignancy with treatment options.

The combination of avutometinib (a RAF/MEK clamp) and defactinib (a FAK inhibitor) represents a novel approach in targeting pancreatic cancer. By simultaneously inhibiting multiple signaling pathways important for tumor growth and survival, this combination could potentially overcome the resistance mechanisms often seen in pancreatic cancer.

The initial results from the RAMP 205 trial are particularly encouraging. A 83% confirmed partial response rate in the dose level 1 cohort, with over six months of follow-up, is noteworthy in the context of pancreatic cancer, where response rates to current standard therapies are typically much lower. However, it's important to note that this is from a small sample size (5 out of 6 patients) and we need to see if this response rate holds up in larger cohorts.

The safety profile, with only one dose-limiting toxicity observed in the dose level 1 cohort, is promising. However, we'll need to closely monitor the safety data from higher dose cohorts as they become available.

While these early results are encouraging, it's important to await the updated data expected in Q1 2025. This will provide a more comprehensive picture of the efficacy and safety across all dose cohorts and help determine if this combination therapy could indeed represent a significant advancement in pancreatic cancer treatment.

Regulatory Affairs Specialist

The FDA's granting of Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) to the combination of avutometinib and defactinib for pancreatic cancer treatment is a significant regulatory milestone for Verastem Oncology. This designation brings several key benefits:

• Tax credits for qualified clinical trials
• Exemptions from certain FDA user fees
• Potential for seven years of market exclusivity upon approval

These incentives can substantially reduce the financial burden of drug development and potentially accelerate the path to market. The ODD also signals the FDA's recognition of the unmet medical need in pancreatic cancer treatment, which could facilitate a more streamlined regulatory process.

However, it's important to note that ODD does not guarantee approval. The company still needs to demonstrate safety and efficacy through rigorous clinical trials. The upcoming data release in Q1 2025 will be important in determining the regulatory path forward.

From a competitive standpoint, the potential seven-year market exclusivity is particularly valuable. Given the treatment options for pancreatic cancer, if approved, this combination therapy could secure a significant market position.

Investors should be aware that while ODD is a positive development, it's just one step in a long and complex drug development process. The true value of this designation will be realized only if the therapy proves successful in later-stage trials and ultimately gains FDA approval.

Expect to report updated data from the ongoing RAMP 205 trial in first-line metastatic pancreatic cancer in Q1 2025

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Verastem Oncology (Nasdaq: VSTM), a biopharmaceutical company committed to advancing new medicines for patients, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) to avutometinib, a RAF/MEK clamp, in combination with defactinib, a selective FAK inhibitor, for the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

“At the ASCO 2024 Annual Meeting, we reported positive initial interim results from the ongoing RAMP 205 trial evaluating avutometinib and defactinib in combination with standard of care chemotherapy in first-line metastatic pancreatic cancer,” said Dan Paterson, president and chief executive officer of Verastem Oncology. “The FDA Orphan Drug Designation for the combination of avutometinib and defactinib for the treatment of pancreatic cancer recognizes the substantial unmet treatment need for patients with pancreatic cancer. We believe avutometinib and defactinib in combination with standard of care has an opportunity to provide a different approach in treating this challenging cancer. We look forward to reporting updated data from across dose cohorts in the ongoing RAMP 205 trial in the first quarter of 2025.”

At the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in June 2024, Verastem presented initial interim safety and efficacy results from the ongoing RAMP 205 trial of avutometinib and defactinib in combination with current standard of care gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel in first-line metastatic pancreatic cancer. As of the data cutoff of May 14, 2024, 41 patients had been treated in one of four dose cohort regimens and only patients in dose cohort 1 had a minimum follow up of six months. In the dose level 1 cohort, 83% (5/6) of patients achieved a confirmed partial response with more than six months of follow up at the time of data cutoff. One dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) was observed in the dose level 1 cohort, and the dose level was subsequently cleared after additional patients were enrolled. Of the 26 patients in all cohorts who have had the opportunity to have their first scan while on treatment, 21 have experienced a reduction of the change in target lesion sum of diameters. Read the press release here.

FDA Orphan Drug Designation is granted to certain investigational treatments for diseases or conditions that affect fewer than 200,000 people in the United States. Orphan Drug Designation provides benefits to drug developers, including tax credits for qualified clinical trials, exemptions from certain FDA user fees and the potential for seven years of market exclusivity upon approval.

About Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic cancer is the third leading cancer in the U.S. and seventh leading cause of cancer-associated mortality worldwide. Metastatic pancreatic cancer is defined as stage IV cancer, where the cancer spreads to other organs. In the U.S., over 30,000 patients are diagnosed with metastatic pancreatic cancer each year, for which the five-year survival rate is 3%. Globally, over 240,000 patients are diagnosed with metastatic pancreatic cancer each year. More than 90% of pancreatic cancers have a KRAS mutation. The standard of care consists of surgery, chemotherapy, radiation or a combination of these approaches.

About RAMP 205 Phase 1/2 Study

RAMP 205 is a multicenter, open-label, single arm Phase 1b/2a study designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability and efficacy of avutometinib and defactinib in combination with standard of care chemotherapy (gemcitabine and Nab-paclitaxel) in patients with previously untreated metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Part A of the study will evaluate different dose and schedule combinations to determine the recommended Phase 2 dose for expansion into Part B. RAMP 205 is supported by a PanCAN Therapeutic Accelerator Award.

About the Avutometinib and Defactinib Combination

Avutometinib is a RAF/MEK clamp that induces inactive complexes of MEK with ARAF, BRAF and CRAF potentially creating a more complete and durable anti-tumor response through maximal RAS/MAPK pathway inhibition. In contrast to currently available MEK-only inhibitors, avutometinib blocks both MEK kinase activity and the ability of RAF to phosphorylate MEK. This unique mechanism allows avutometinib to block MEK signaling without the compensatory activation of MEK that appears to limit the efficacy of other MEK-only inhibitors. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation of the investigational combination of avutometinib and defactinib, a selective FAK inhibitor, for the treatment of all patients with recurrent low-grade serous ovarian cancer (LGSOC) regardless of KRAS status after one or more prior lines of therapy, including platinum-based chemotherapy. Avutometinib alone or in combination with defactinib was also granted Orphan Drug Designation by the FDA for the treatment of LGSOC.

Verastem Oncology is currently conducting clinical trials with avutometinib in RAS/MAPK driven tumors as part of its Raf And Mek Program or RAMP. RAMP 301 (NCT06072781) is an international Phase 3 confirmatory trial evaluating the combination of avutometinib and defactinib versus standard chemotherapy or hormonal therapy for the treatment of recurrent LGSOC. RAMP 201 (NCT04625270) is a Phase 2 registration-directed trial of avutometinib in combination with defactinib in patients with recurrent LGSOC and enrollment has been completed in each of the dose optimization and expansion phases and the low-dose evaluation. Verastem has initiated a rolling NDA submission for avutometinib and defactinib combination in adults with recurrent LGSOC and expects to complete its NDA submission in the second half of 2024 with a potential FDA decision in the first half of 2025.

Verastem Oncology has established clinical collaborations with Amgen and Mirati to evaluate LUMAKRAS™ (sotorasib) in combination with avutometinib and defactinib and KRAZATI™ (adagrasib) in combination with avutometinib in KRAS G12C mutant NSCLC as part of the RAMP 203 (NCT05074810) and RAMP 204 (NCT05375994) trials, respectively. The RAMP 205 (NCT05669482), a Phase 1b/2 clinical trial evaluating avutometinib and defactinib with gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel in patients with front-line metastatic pancreatic cancer, is supported by the PanCAN Therapeutic Accelerator Award.

About Verastem Oncology

Verastem Oncology (Nasdaq: VSTM) is a late-stage development biopharmaceutical company committed to the development and commercialization of new medicines to improve the lives of patients diagnosed with cancer. Our pipeline is focused on RAS/MAPK-driven cancers, specifically novel small molecule drugs that inhibit critical signaling pathways in cancer that promote cancer cell survival and tumor growth, including RAF/MEK inhibition and FAK inhibition. For more information, please visit www.verastem.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes forward-looking statements about, among other things, Verastem Oncology’s programs and product candidates, strategy, future plans and prospects, including statements related to the potential clinical value of various of the Company’s clinical trials, including the RAMP 205 trial, the timing of commencing and completing trials, including the RAMP 205 trial data reports, interactions with regulators, the potential for and timing of commercialization of product candidates and potential for additional development programs involving Verastem Oncology’s lead compound. The words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "predict," "project," "target," "potential," "will," "would," "could," "should," "continue," “can,” “promising” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statement.

Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements we make. Applicable risks and uncertainties include the risks and uncertainties, among other things, regarding: the success in the development and potential commercialization of our product candidates, including avutometinib in combination with other compounds, including defactinib, LUMAKRAS™ and others; the uncertainties inherent in research and development, such as negative or unexpected results of clinical trials, the occurrence or timing of applications for our product candidates that may be filed with regulatory authorities in any jurisdictions; whether and when regulatory authorities in any jurisdictions may approve any such applications that may be filed for our product candidates, and, if approved, whether our product candidates will be commercially successful in such jurisdictions; our ability to obtain, maintain and enforce patent and other intellectual property protection for our product candidates; the scope, timing, and outcome of any legal proceedings; decisions by regulatory authorities regarding trial design, labeling and other matters that could affect the timing, availability or commercial potential of our product candidates; whether preclinical testing of our product candidates and preliminary or interim data from clinical trials will be predictive of the results or success of ongoing or later clinical trials; that the timing, scope and rate of reimbursement for our product candidates is uncertain; that the market opportunities of our drug candidates are based on internal and third-party estimates which may prove to be incorrect; that third-party payors (including government agencies) may not reimburse; that there may be competitive developments affecting our product candidates; that data may not be available when expected; that enrollment of clinical trials may take longer than expected or that the FDA may require the Company to enroll additional patients in the Company’s ongoing RAMP-301 confirmatory Phase 3 clinical trial prior to submitting or the FDA taking Action on our NDA seeking accelerated approval; risks associated with preliminary and interim data, which may not be representative of more mature data, including with respect to interim duration of therapy data; that our product candidates will cause adverse safety events and/or unexpected concerns may arise from additional data or analysis, or result in unmanageable safety profiles as compared to their levels of efficacy; that we may be unable to successfully validate, develop and obtain regulatory approval for companion diagnostic tests for our product candidates that require or would commercially benefit from such tests, or experience significant delays in doing so; that the mature RAMP 201 data and associated discussions with the FDA may not support the scope of our rolling NDA submission for the avutometinib and defactinib combination in LGSOC, including with respect to KRAS wild type LGSOC; that our product candidates may experience manufacturing or supply interruptions or failures; that any of our third party contract research organizations, contract manufacturing organizations, clinical sites, or contractors, among others, who we rely on fail to fully perform; that we face substantial competition, which may result in others developing or commercializing products before or more successfully than we do which could result in reduced market share or market potential for our product candidates; that we will be unable to successfully initiate or complete the clinical development and eventual commercialization of our product candidates; that the development and commercialization of our product candidates will take longer or cost more than planned, including as a result of conducting additional studies or our decisions regarding execution of such commercialization; that we may not have sufficient cash to fund our contemplated operations, including certain of our product development programs; that we may not attract and retain high quality personnel; that we or Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. will fail to fully perform under the avutometinib license agreement; that the total addressable and target markets for our product candidates might be smaller than we are presently estimating; that we or Secura Bio, Inc. (“Secura”) will fail to fully perform under the asset purchase agreement with Secura, including in relation to milestone payments; that we will not see a return on investment on the payments we have and may continue to make pursuant to the collaboration and option agreement with GenFleet Therapeutics (Shanghai), Inc. (GenFleet), or that GenFleet will fail to fully perform under the agreement; that we may be unable to obtain adequate financing in the future through product licensing, co-promotional arrangements, public or private equity, debt financing or otherwise; that we will not pursue or submit regulatory filings for our product candidates; and that our product candidates will not receive regulatory approval, become commercially successful products, or result in new treatment options being offered to patients.

Other risks and uncertainties include those identified under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 14, 2024 and in any subsequent filings with the SEC. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release reflect Verastem Oncology’s views as of the date hereof, and the Company does not assume and specifically disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240729473398/en/

For Investor and Media Inquiries:

Julissa Viana

Vice President, Corporate Communications and Investor Relations

investors@verastem.com or

media@verastem.com

Source: Verastem Oncology

FAQ

What is the significance of FDA Orphan Drug Designation for VSTM's pancreatic cancer treatment?

The FDA Orphan Drug Designation for VSTM's avutometinib and defactinib combination recognizes the unmet need in pancreatic cancer treatment. It provides benefits like tax credits for clinical trials, FDA user fee exemptions, and potential 7-year market exclusivity upon approval.

What were the key results from the RAMP 205 trial presented at ASCO 2024 for VSTM?

The RAMP 205 trial showed promising initial results for VSTM's avutometinib and defactinib combination with standard chemotherapy in first-line metastatic pancreatic cancer. In the dose level 1 cohort, 83% (5/6) of patients achieved a confirmed partial response with over six months of follow-up.

When will Verastem Oncology (VSTM) report updated data from the RAMP 205 trial?

Verastem Oncology (VSTM) expects to report updated data from the ongoing RAMP 205 trial in first-line metastatic pancreatic cancer in the first quarter of 2025.

How many patients were treated in the VSTM RAMP 205 trial as of May 14, 2024?

As of the data cutoff on May 14, 2024, 41 patients had been treated in one of four dose cohort regimens in the VSTM RAMP 205 trial for pancreatic cancer treatment.