Benzinga | Mar 10, 2021 04:31PM EST

MEI Pharma Highlights Will Present Study At American Association For Cancer Research Apr. 10, 2021

MEI Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEIP), a late-stage pharmaceutical company focused on advancing new therapies for cancer, today announced that the abstract, Voruciclib, a CDK9 inhibitor, downregulates MYC and inhibits proliferation of KRAS mutant cancers in preclinical models, was selected for an E-Poster Session presentation at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2021 and will be available on April 10, 2021. Voruciclib is an orally available inhibitor of cyclin-dependent kinase 9 (CDK9), part of a family of regulatory enzymes important to cell cycle regulation associated with cell proliferation and increased survival.

KRAS mutated cancers are frequently associated with overexpression of MYC, a transcription factor regulating cell proliferation and growth. Inhibition of CDK9 leads to reduced transcription of MYC. As reported in the abstract to be presented at AACR 2021, voruciclib decreased cell viability among multiple KRAS mutant cancer cell lines in vitro and was associated with significant tumor growth inhibition in vivo. Voruciclib treatment was associated with rapid inhibition of MYC phosphorylation at Ser62 resulting in a decrease in MYC protein. The research presented suggests that voruciclib could be an attractive therapeutic target for cancers driven by KRAS mutated cancers.

MEI pharma is also engaged in additional pre-clinical studies to explore the potential synergistic activity in various cancers of voruciclib in combination with drug-candidates that directly inhibit KRAS.

Details of MEI's e-poster presentation at AACR Annual Meeting 2021:

Abstract Title: Voruciclib, a CDK9 inhibitor, downregulates MYC and inhibits proliferation of KRAS mutant cancers in preclinical models

Poster Number: 1962

Poster Session Title: Cell Cycle

Date Saturday, April 10, 2021

Abstracts and full session details can be found at https://www.aacr.org/meeting/aacr-annual-meeting-2021/