Curis Proprietary Product Cyclopamine Inhibits Medulloblastoma Growth
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 30, 2002--Curis, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRIS - News) - A publication reporting on one of Curis' proprietary Hedgehog pathway inhibitors, cyclopamine, establishes therapeutic efficacy in preclinical models of medulloblastoma, the most common malignant brain tumor in children. According to this study, conducted by scientists from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD, and the University of Washington/Children's Hospital in Seattle, WA, medulloblastomas are initiated and maintained by inappropriate activity of the Hedgehog pathway by mutation. The study will be published in the August 30 issue of Science Magazine.
To test the role of Hedgehog pathway signaling in medulloblastoma growth, cyclopamine, a plant-derived pathway inhibitor, was administered to cultured mouse and human medulloblastoma cells, and mice carrying this type of brain cancer. The results from this study indicate that inhibition of Hedgehog signaling turns off the mutated pathway and causes significant shrinkage and death of tumor cells without any evident detrimental effects on normal brain cells or other cells and organs.
This study shows that uncontrolled activity of certain signaling pathways, such as that regulated by Hedgehog, plays a key role in the establishment and growth of certain cancers. This approach of targeting a specific signaling pathway is relatively novel and holds the promise of directed therapies, potentially with fewer of the side effects commonly experienced with traditional chemotherapeutics. Hedgehog signaling has also been shown to be inappropriately activated in other tumors, such as basal cell carcinoma, pancreatic cancer, and other solid tumors. Curis has identified a number of additional Hedgehog pathway inhibitors and is exploring their further development as potential anticancer therapies.
"Curis' approach to drug development, based upon understanding how cells communicate with each other to sustain their development and growth is further validated by this study. We are developing targeted therapies that are intended to either disrupt this communication, as with cancer, or enhance it to foster the human body's natural repair processes," said Daniel R. Passeri, President and Chief Executive Officer of Curis. "We are pleased with the progress being made, and the results of this study provide us with promising data for the potential development of cancer therapies for medulloblastoma as well as other more common cancers."
About Curis, Inc.
Curis, Inc. is generating therapies that regulate the pathways used by the body to maintain and restore health. The company focuses on signaling pathways that govern the proliferation and differentiation of cells. These same pathways control maintenance, repair, and regeneration of tissues and organs from infancy through old age. This approach has created an approved product for bone regeneration and enables Curis to build a portfolio of product candidates in neurology, kidney disease, and cancer. For more information, please visit the Curis web site at www.curis.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements address a variety of subjects, including, for example, strategic collaboration efforts and product development efforts. Statements in this press release that state Curis' or management's intentions, plans, expectations or predictions of future events are forward-looking statements. The matters discussed in this press release also involve risks and uncertainties that may cause Curis' actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The following important factors and uncertainties, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in these forward-looking statements: Curis' need for partnerships to move forward its cell therapy programs, the early stage of product development of Curis' retained programs, uncertainties related to clinical trials, uncertainties related to Curis' ability to raise additional capital, changes in or an inability to execute Curis' realigned business strategy and other risk factors described from time to time in Curis' periodic reports and registration statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, without limitation, Curis' Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2001 filed on March 29, 2002. Curis cannot guarantee any future results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements. Moreover, neither Curis nor anyone else assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of any forward-looking statements. Curis undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release.
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Curis, Inc.
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or
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Melissa Wainberg (media), 212/845-4262
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Source: Curis, Inc. |
