Curis presents vismodegib Phase II data in basal cell nevus syndrome at AACR meeting

Curis, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRIS), a drug development company seeking to develop next generation targeted small molecule drug candidates for cancer treatment, today announced the presentation of interim Phase II clinical data on Hedgehog pathway inhibitor vismodegib in patients with basal cell nevus syndrome (BCNS), which is also commonly referred to as Gorlin syndrome. This data was presented at the 102^nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research being held in Orlando, Florida, April 2-6, 2011.

The presentation was titled, "An Investigator-Initiated, Phase II Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Trial of vismodegib for Prevention of BCCs in Basal Cell Nevus Syndrome (BCNS) Patients," and was presented by the principal investigator of the study, Ervin H. Epstein, MD, Senior Scientist at the Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute, Oakland, California.

"We are extremely pleased that the data presented by Dr. Epstein and his collaborators at this year's AACR conference demonstrate proof-of-concept for the therapeutic utility of vismodegib for BCC in Gorlin syndrome patients, for whom no pharmacological standard of care intervention is approved," said Daniel Passeri, Curis' President and Chief Executive Officer.

Dr. Epstein's laboratory and others were instrumental in laying the foundation for the scientific rationale to test vismodegib in BCNS patients by identifying a mutation in a component of the Hedgehog signaling pathway as the cause of this syndrome in 1996. "We are very pleased with the evidence of clinical anti-tumor activity seen with vismodegib in BCNS patients," stated Dr. Epstein. "This is an excellent example of mechanism-based basic research supporting the development of a targeted cancer drug."

Source: Curis, Inc.