Benzinga | Apr 12, 2021 10:11AM EDT

MEI Pharma Saturday Morning Announced Preclinical Data Showing Ability Of Voruciclib to Regulate MYC, Synergize With KRAS Inhibitors At Ammerican Assocation For Cancer Research Meeting Apr. 13, 2021

MEI Pharma, Inc. (NASDAQ:MEIP), a late-stage pharmaceutical company focused on advancing new therapies for cancer, today announced preclinical data demonstrating that voruciclib, an orally administered cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitor that is potent against CDK9, has single agent activity against multiple KRAS mutant cancer cell lines and synergistically inhibits growth of KRAS mutant cancers in combination with KRAS inhibitors. The research is featured as an E-Poster Session presentation titled, "Voruciclib, a CDK9 inhibitor, downregulates MYC and inhibits proliferation of KRAS mutant cancers in preclinical models" at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2021. Voruciclib is currently in a Phase 1b clinical trial as a monotherapy in patients with relapsed and/or refractory B-cell malignancies and acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

To view the poster and a multimedia announcement with additional media and investor resources click here.

"Collectively, the data reported today offer the opportunity to expand our current development activities with voruciclib and support its potential as a therapeutic option for KRAS mutated cancers in combination with direct inhibitors of KRAS," said Daniel P. Gold, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of MEI Pharma. "Beyond these data, we have ongoing efforts to explore other potential synergistic combinations in various KRAS mutated cancers as we evaluate opportunities to confirm these findings in a clinical setting."

KRAS mutated cancers are frequently associated with overexpression of MYC, a transcription factor regulating cell proliferation and growth. CDK9 is a known regulator of MYC transcription and a modulator of MYC protein phosphorylation. The data reported today in preclinical models demonstrates that voruciclib:

* Results in a rapid decrease in the phosphorylation of proteins that promote MYC transcription

* Rapidly decreases phosphorylation of MYC protein on Ser62, a site implicated in stabilizing MYC in KRAS mutant cancers

* Possesses single agent activity against multiple KRAS mutant cancer cell lines both in vitro and in vivo

* Synergistically inhibits KRAS G12C mutant cancer cell lines in combination with KRAS G12C inhibitors, both in vitro and in vivo

The full video presentation is available on our website here: https://investor.meipharma.com/AACR-2021-Voruciclib.