CRIS - Sector: Healthcare---Industry: Biotechnology & Drugs

[setravis]

Profile: 

Curis Inc.
4 Maguire Road
Lexington, MA 02421
United States - Map
Phone: 617-503-6500
Fax: 617-503-6501
Website: http://www.curis.com

Details   
Index Membership: N/A
Sector: Healthcare
Industry: Biotechnology
Full Time Employees: 32


Business Summary   

Curis, Inc., a drug discovery and development company, focuses on the research and development of cancer therapeutics. The company, under collaboration with Genentech, Inc., is conducting a pivotal Phase II clinical trial on its lead molecule, GDC-0449 in advanced basal cell carcinoma patients, as well as various Phase II clinical trials in first-line metastatic colorectal cancer and advanced ovarian cancer patients. It is also evaluating CUDC-101, a small molecule that is in a Phase I clinical testing and is designed to target histone deacetylase, epidermal growth factor receptor, and epidermal growth factor receptor 2. In addition, Curis has a development candidate, Debio 0932, which is a Heat Shock Protein 90 or Hsp90 inhibitor. The company holds a license agreement with Debiopharm related to its Hsp90 technologies. Further, it involves in preclinical testing for the development of candidates from its targeted cancer programs. The company was founded in 2000 and is based in Lexington, Massachusetts.


Business Overview

BRIEF: For the fiscal year ended 31 December 2010, Curis, Inc.'s revenues increased 86% to $16M. Net loss decreased 55% to $4.4M. Revenues reflect an increase in income from research and development. Lower loss was partially offset by an increase in research & development expenses, higher stock based compensation, an increase in occupancy & depreciation expenses, higher legal services, decrease in loss from operations and lower interest income. http://www.curis.com

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Curis stock jumps on cancer data...

Boston Business Journal - by Julie M. Donnelly
Date: Wednesday, April 6, 2011, 4:05pm EDT

Curis, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRIS), saw its stock jump 14 percent on Wednesday, following a presentation at a prestigious cancer conference, currently underway in Orlando, Fla. Investor excitement centers on promising data showing that Curis' technology platform may have use in battling a wide variety of different cancers.


The Cambridge, Mass.-based company presented data on three different early stage potential cancer drugs at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting.


The data we presented at AACR this year demonstrate the versatility and breadth of our proprietary cancer platform," Curis CEO Daniel Passeri said in a statement. "We believe that the potency and differentiability of our product candidates validate Curis's approach to developing novel anti-cancer agents and continue to demonstrate that our proprietary and partnered platforms are based on strong scientific rationale."

Research on the first drug candidate, called CEDC-101, suggests that the compound might be able both to fight tumors and to combat drug resistance to other treatments. That experimental drug is being tested in a new phase 1B trial on variety of diseases, including breast, gastric, head and neck, liver and non-small cell lung cancer.

The second drug candidate, called CUDC-907, has shown early promise against hematologic cancers. The third drug candidate, called Debio 0932, is in the midst of a phase 1 trial conducted by Curis' partner Debiopharm Group. The third potential drug ...



The second drug candidate, called CUDC-907, has shown early promise against hematologic cancers. The third drug candidate, called Debio 0932, is in the midst of a phase 1 trial conducted by Curis' partner Debiopharm Group. The third potential drug is targeting advanced solid tumors and lymphoma.

Curis' stock was trading at $4.22 in late afternoon trading Wednesday, up from $3.69 at the previous close.

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Today's + volume + $ move was significant...
•Biotech Stocks: Optimer, Curis, Orchid in drug-sector spotlight

•InPlay: Curis presents highlight breadth of targeted cancer platformBriefing.com(Wed, Apr 6)
8:14AM Curis presents highlight breadth of targeted cancer platform (CRIS) 3.69 : Co reports pre-clinical data characterizing three drug development candidates that target cancer signaling networks. The data demonstrate that co's cancer platform can be utilized to generate a range of highly differentiable small molecule inhibitors for cancer with varying functions, molecular composition and potential therapeutic utility in diverse cancer indications. The data presented further show that CUDC-907 displays high exposure, a long half-life in tumor tissue and oral bioavailability in preclinical models, resulting in promising anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic activity in hematologic cancer models.

Day's Range: 3.75 - 4.29
52wk Range: 1.21 - 4.29
Volume: 2,642,917
Avg Vol (3m): 886,781
Market Cap: 319.73M
P/E (ttm): N/A
EPS (ttm): -0.06
Div & Yield: N/A (N/A)

Technicals
Percentage Gainer

Last Price Quote is:
23.59%above 13-day EMA
40.30%above 50-day EMA
RS Rating: 97 

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CRIS - BreakOut...
http://www.chartmoney.com/stockquotes.php?ticker=cris
Curis, Inc., a drug discovery and development company, focuses on the research and development of cancer therapeutics.

Pipeline Progress at Roche
Roche has a collaboration agreement with Curis Inc. (NasdaqGM: CRIS - News) for vismodegib. Per the terms of the agreement, Roche is responsible for developing and subsequently commercializing vismodegib worldwide excluding Japan, where the charge lies with Chugai Pharmaceuticals (Other OTC: CHGCY.PK - News). Curis is eligible to receive payments upon the achievement of certain clinical development and regulatory milestones. Curis will also receive royalties upon commercialization of vismodegib.

Basal cell carcinoma is the most common form of skin cancer, according to the American Cancer Society, accounting for about 80% of all diagnosed skin cancers. The disease is generally curable when the cancer affects only a small area of the skin. However, if the disease is left untreated or does not respond to treatment, the cancer may spread further. In such cases, where BCC advances or spreads to other parts of the body, it becomes life-threatening.

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Curis Presentations Highlight Breadth of Targeted Cancer Platform at 102nd AACR Annual Meeting 2011...

Press Release Source: Curis, Inc. On Wednesday April 6, 2011, 8:00 am EDT

LEXINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Curis, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRIS - News), a drug development company seeking to develop next generation targeted small molecule drug candidates for cancer treatment, today announced the presentation of data in three poster presentations at the 102nd American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting held in Orlando, Florida, April 2-6, 2011.



"The data we presented at AACR this year demonstrate the versatility and breadth of our proprietary cancer platform," said Daniel Passeri, Curis President and Chief Executive Officer. "We believe that the potency and differentiability of our product candidates validate Curis's approach to developing novel anti-cancer agents and continue to demonstrate that our proprietary and partnered platforms are based on strong scientific rationale."



The Company reported pre-clinical data characterizing three drug development candidates that target cancer signaling networks. The data demonstrate that Curis' cancer platform can be utilized to generate a range of highly differentiable small molecule inhibitors for cancer with varying functions, molecular composition and potential therapeutic utility in diverse cancer indications.



CUDC-101



Jing Wang, Ph.D., Staff Scientist, Molecular and Cellular Biology, presented a poster titled, "Potential advantages of CUDC-101, a multi-targeted HDAC, EGFR and Her2 inhibitor, on preventing drug resistance and tumor metastasis." The presentation highlighted data that indicate that Erlotinib-resistant cancer cells and cancer cells harboring MET amplification are sensitive to the treatment of CUDC-101. Moreover, CUDC-101 reduces migration, invasion and epithelial-mesenchymal transition of cancer cells in vitro, suggesting that it may have the potential to simultaneously suppress tumor growth and metastasis and overcome drug resistance.



CUDC-101 is the lead drug candidate from Curis' network-targeted cancer programs and is designed to inhibit epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), epidermal growth factor 2 (Her2) and histone deacetylase (HDAC). Testing of CUDC-101 in a Phase I clinical trial in patients with advanced, refractory solid tumors has been completed, and Curis has initiated a Phase Ib expansion trial in breast, gastric, head and neck, liver and non-small cell lung cancer. Curis believes that CUDC-101 is exemplary of the Company's network-targeted approach, which aims to enhance the therapeutic effect and durability of clinical response by attacking cancer cells at multiple points of intervention.



CUDC-907



The second presentation focused on Curis' latest molecule selected for clinical development, CUDC-907. This presentation was given by Rudi Bao, M.D., Ph.D., Senior Director, Oncology and was titled "Anti-tumor activity of a dual PI3K and HDAC inhibitor in hematologic cancer models". CUDC-907 is designed to potently inhibit phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K) and HDAC, the combination of which Curis scientists believe has synergistic interaction against cancer cells. Data presented also indicate that CUDC-907 is more potent than reference compounds in proliferation assays of hematologic cancer cell lines and inhibits survival pathways commonly upregulated upon PI3K inhibition. It also showed that CUDC-907 induces apoptosis at low concentrations in vitro, demonstrating its ability to suppress multiple nodes of survival pathways as a result of the epigenetic modification resulting from the inhibition of its (non-kinase) HDAC target. By contrast, the majority of cancer cells treated with a single-target PI3K inhibitor remain unaffected.



The data presented further show that CUDC-907 displays high exposure, a long half-life in tumor tissue and oral bioavailability in preclinical models, resulting in promising anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic activity in hematologic cancer models.



Debio 0932



The third presentation was given by Xiong Cai, Ph.D., Vice President, Medicinal Chemistry entitled, "Design and synthesis of imidazopyridine derivatives as novel HSP90 inhibitors for the treatment of cancer." This presentation highlighted the discovery of Debio 0932 (formerly CUDC-305), which is partnered with Debiopharm Group. Dr. Cai's presentation summarizes in detail the design, synthesis and extensive structure-activity relationships identified over the course of the medicinal chemistry campaign that led to the selection of Debio 0932 for clinical development. Debio 0932 is an orally bioavailable small molecule inhibitor of Heat Shock Protein 90 (HSP90) that is currently being tested in a Phase I clinical trial by Curis licensee Debiopharm.



Abstracts can be accessed through the AACR website, www.aacr.org.



All posters are available on Curis' website, www.curis.com.



About Curis, Inc.



Curis is a drug development company that is committed to leveraging its innovative signaling pathway drug technologies to seek to create new targeted small molecule drug candidates for cancer. Curis is building upon its previous experiences in targeting signaling pathways, including in the Hedgehog pathway, in its effort to develop proprietary targeted cancer programs. For more information, visit Curis' website at www.curis.com.



Curis Cautionary Statement: This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including without limitation the Company's belief that its approach to developing cancer drug candidates is differentiated from other approaches and that it may represent a breakthrough in cancer therapy.. Forward-looking statements used in this press release may contain the words "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "plans", "seeks", "estimates", "assumes", "will", "may" or similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important factors that may cause the actual results to be materially different from those indicated by such forward-looking statements including, among other things:



•Curis' collaborators, Genentech and Roche, may experience adverse results, delays and/or failures in their development program under collaboration with Curis. For example, Genentech and Roche may not be able to replicate in later trials any favorable safety and efficacy data from earlier trials of GDC-0449, or may otherwise fail to meet applicable regulatory standards for approval of GDC-0449.

•Curis may experience adverse results, delays and/or failures in its internal drug development programs, including with respect to its ongoing and planned clinical trials of CUDC-101, with respect to its efforts to advance CUDC-907 into Phase I clinical testing and with respect to its ongoing discovery research and preclinical studies of its other targeted cancer programs.

•Curis' collaborator Debiopharm may experience adverse results, delays and/or failures in its development program under collaboration with Curis. For example, Debiopharm may not be able to successfully advance Debio 0932 through its ongoing Phase I clinical trial as planned.

•Curis may experience difficulties or delays in obtaining or maintaining required regulatory approvals for products under development both internally and through its collaborations.

•Curis may not be able to obtain or maintain the intellectual property protection necessary for the development and commercialization of drug candidates based on its technologies.

•Curis may not be able to obtain the substantial additional funding required to conduct research and development of its drug candidates.

•Curis may experience unplanned cash requirements, and may not receive additional anticipated payments under its collaborations, any of which could shorten the estimated period in which Curis will have cash to fund its operations and which could also adversely affect Curis' estimated operating expenses for 2011 and beyond.

•Curis faces risks relating to its ability to enter into and maintain planned collaborations for development candidates under its targeted cancer programs, its ability to maintain its current collaborations with Genentech/Roche and Debiopharm, and the risk that any such collaborators will not perform adequately or may terminate such collaborations on short notice and/or for circumstances outside of our control.

•Curis also faces other risk factors identified in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the quarter ended December 31, 2010 and other filings that it periodically makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission.


In addition, any forward-looking statements represent the views only as of today and should not be relied upon as representing Curis' views as of any subsequent date. Curis disclaims any intention or obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Contact:
Curis, Inc.Michael P. Gray, 617-503-6632Chief Financial and Chief Operating [email protected]

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Biotech Stocks: Drug stocks climb; Siga sinks on contract woes...

BOSTON (MarketWatch) -- Drug stocks climbed in afternoon trading Tuesday, though Siga Technologies' stock faltered on reports that a recently-awarded government contract for its smallpox treatment is being investigated by two Congressional committees.

The NYSE Arca Pharmaceutical Index DRG +0.94%  rose 1.1% to 332 and the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index BTK +0.65% climbed 0.9% to 1,420 as the broader market gained on positive economic data about the U.S. and Chinese economies. Read more on broader market.

Siga Technologies SIGA +2.77%  shares were down 9% at $11.29 amid reports that two Congressional committees are investigating whether undue political influence was used in the award of a contract to supply the U.S. government with its smallpox treatment ST-246.

The contract, awarded by the Department of Health and Human Services, is valued at up to $2.8 billion. Read more about SIGA contract.

Shares of KV Pharmaceutical Co. KV.B -22.69%   KV.A -22.53%   tumbled almost 20% the day after it filed its 10-K report and held a conference call with investors to discuss various company matters.

Pacira Pharmaceuticals PCRX -12.25%   shares slid 9% after the company announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will not decide on whether to approve its new pain reliever Exparel until Oct. 28. A decision had been expected by July 28.

Curis Inc. CRIS +8.67%  shares jumped 10%. On Monday, Curis announced in a federal filing that it plans to sell up to $20 million of its common shares.

Shares of BioCryst Pharmaceuticals BCRX +0.25%   were up for the second day, inching up marginally to $4.01 after reaching a session peak of $4.29.

BioCryst's stock shot up almost 15% on Monday on a report that its antiviral medication peramivir appeared to be more effective in battling a new strain of swine flu than the two leading treatments, Tamiflu and Relenza.