Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) rose sharply Monday after the company announced a mini oral presentation highlighting updated data from the ongoing investigator-sponsored Phase 1/2 FRAME study.
Verastam, a biopharmaceutical company committed to advancing new medicines for patients battling cancer, today announced a clinical collaboration agreement with Amgen to evaluate the combination of VS-6766, Verastem Oncology’s investigational dual RAF/MEK inhibitor, with Amgen’s KRAS G12C inhibitor LUMAKRAS TM (sotorasib) in KRAS G12C-mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
The Phase 1/2 trial will evaluate the safety, tolerability and efficacy of VS-6766 in combination with LUMAKRAS TM in patients with KRAS G12C-mutant NSCLC who have not been previously treated with a KRAS G12C inhibitor as well as in patients who have progressed on a KRAS G12C inhibitor. The study will therefore investigate the potential benefits of a more complete vertical blockade of the RAS pathway with the combination of VS-6766 (RAF/MEK blockade) with LUMAKRAS TM (G12C inhibition) in KRAS G12C-mutant locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC.
Said CEO Brian Stuglik,"We are pleased to partner with Amgen on this important research that could potentially expand treatment options for patients with KRAS G12C-mutant NSCLC.
"This collaboration advances our strategy to fully explore the potential of VS-6766 as a backbone of therapy to treat RAS pathway-driven cancers."
Verastem Oncology expects to initiate the clinical trial with VS-6766 and LUMAKRAS TM by the end of 2021.
VSTM shares gained 33 cents, or 12%, to $3.09.
