Curis has entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the National Cancer Institute (NCI), a component of the National Institutes of Health, for joint development of CA-4948, a first-in-class small molecule IRAK4 kinase inhibitor, as an anti-cancer agent under the NCI Experimental Therapeutics Program (NExT).
Under the CRADA, Curis will collaborate with the NCI Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program to conduct non-clinical and clinical studies of Curis's proprietary compound CA-4948, an IRAK-4 kinase inhibitor that acts as a Toll-like Receptor (TLR) suppressor, as an anti-cancer agent.
"In addition to expanding the reach of this important clinical program, we believe this CRADA will provide powerful validation of our target-specific approach to developing impactful novel therapeutics for patients suffering from devastating cancers," said James Dentzer, President and Chief Executive Officer of Curis. We look forward to working closely alongside the team at the NCI and utilizing their tremendous expertise and resources as we advance CA-4948 through the clinical process."
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CA-4948 is a small molecule inhibitor of IRAK4, which is currently being tested in a Phase 1 dose escalating clinical trial in patients with non-Hodgkin lymphomas, including those with Myeloid Differentiation Primary Response 88 (MYD88), alterations. CA-4948 is also being investigated in a separate Phase 1 trial for acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes. The Company is planning a combination study of CA-4948 and ibrutinib, a BTK inhibitor, in non-Hodgkin lymphomas with planned enrollment commencing in the fourth quarter of 2020.