This patent, along with related patents issued in June 2013 (US Patent no. 8,461,157) and February 2013 (US Patent No. 8,367,663), covers a broad range of proprietary chemical entities that target HDAC and PI3K enzymes, and in some instances mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), within a single molecule for the treatment of certain human diseases.
CUDC-907 is being investigated in a Phase I study in patients with relapsed/ refractory lymphoma or multiple myeloma.
Curis’ president and COO Dr Ali Fattaey noted that this patent issuance adds to the company’s strong intellectual property portfolio and is expected to further protect its investment in its promising drug candidate, CUDC-907.
"It highlights the innovation behind combining two distinct inhibitory moieties that target HDAC and PI3K enzymes in a single chemical structure. We are encouraged by the progress being made in CUDC-907’s ongoing Phase 1 dose escalation study and expect to initiate the expansion phase of the trial in select hematologic indications later this year," Dr Fattaey added.
CUDC-907 is a dual inhibitor of Class I and II HDAC, as well as Class I PI3K enzymes. Specifically, CUDC-907 is designed to inhibit HDACs 1, 2, 3, 6 and 10 and PI3K-alpha, delta and beta isoforms, the combined inhibition of which Curis believes has synergistic effects against cancer cells and their microenvironment.
In preclinical studies, CUDC-907 has demonstrated the ability to affect multiple nodes of cellular survival and proliferation signaling pathways. In addition, preclinical data have shown that CUDC-907 inhibits compensatory pathways that are often utilized in cancer cells during the emergence of resistance to standard-of-care agents.
The development of CUDC-907 is in part funded by The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) under an agreement established in 2011 between Curis and LLS’s Therapy Acceleration Program.