Sareum notes Sierra Oncology Q1 2019 Results

(AIM: SAR) 8 May 2019

Sareum Holdings PLC

("Sareum" or the "Company")

Licence holder for SRA737, Sierra Oncology, has reported its Q1 2019 Results

Sareum Holdings plc (AIM: SAR), the specialist small molecule drug development business, notes that Sierra Oncology ("Sierra"), the licence holder advancing clinical cancer candidate SRA737, has announced its results for the first quarter 2019. In the statement, Sierra provides a summary of the status and recent progress made on the development of SRA737, a novel Chk1 inhibitor, in clinical and preclinical studies.

Commenting on the SRA737 programme, Dr Nick Glover, Sierra's CEO said: "Subsequent to the end of the quarter, we reported compelling preclinical data for SRA737+LDG, our oral Chk1 inhibitor (SRA737) plus non-cytotoxic low dose gemcitabine (LDG), in combination with immunotherapy, in a late-breaking oral presentation at the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2019. These data highlight the ability for this unique combination to function synergistically and demonstrate significant efficacy in an immunotherapy resistant small cell lung cancer (SCLC) model. We are also currently in the process of analysing preliminary data from our two ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical trials evaluating SRA737 monotherapy and SRA737+LDG combination therapy, and expect to report on these studies and potential next steps in the development path for SRA737 at the 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting in early June."

· SRA737 is currently being evaluated in two Phase 1/2 clinical trials in patients with advanced cancer across multiple indications. The SRA737-01 trial is intended to evaluate SRA737's potential to induce synthetic lethality as monotherapy, while the SRA737-02 trial is intended to evaluate the combination of SRA737 potentiated by non-cytotoxic LDG. Sierra expects to report preliminary data from both trials at the 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting being held in early June 2019.

· In addition, Sierra has designed clinical trials and has conducted preclinical research evaluating SRA737 in combination with other DDR-targeted agents, including poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitors, as well as with immuno-oncology therapeutics, that could potentially guide the next planned wave of clinical development for this asset. Sierra has an agreement with Janssen Research & Development, LLC (Janssen), under which Janssen has agreed to supply the PARP inhibitor niraparib, facilitating the potential initiation of a PARP inhibitor combination trial with SRA737 for the treatment of prostate cancer. Sierra is currently evaluating the optimal timing to commence this trial within the context of its recently expanded portfolio.

· During the first quarter of 2019, Sierra reported preclinical data for SRA737+LDG, in combination with immunotherapy, in a late-breaking oral presentation at the AACR Annual Meeting 2019. In the study, SRA737+LDG demonstrated significant anti-tumor activity when combined with anti-PD-L1 in a mouse model of SCLC, resulting in durable tumor regressions. These findings provide a mechanistic basis for the growing body of evidence demonstrating a synergistic interplay between replication stress and anti-tumor immune responses and afford a compelling rationale for evaluating SRA737+LDG with immunotherapy in the clinic.

The full announcement can be found by clicking here:

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Notes for editors: 

Sareum is a specialist drug development company delivering targeted small molecule therapeutics, to improve the treatment of cancer and autoimmune disease. The Company generates value through licensing its candidates to international pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies at the preclinical or early clinical trials stage.

Sareum's leading clinical-stage programme, SRA737, a novel Checkpoint kinase 1 (Chk1) inhibitor licensed to NASDAQ-listed Sierra Oncology, is in Phase 2 clinical trials targeting ovarian and other advanced cancers. The key role of Chk1 in cancer cell replication and DNA damage repair suggests that SRA737 may have broad application as a targeted therapy in combination with other oncology and immune-oncology drugs in genetically defined patients.

Sareum is also advancing internal programmes focused on distinct dual tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) /Janus kinase 1 (JAK1) inhibitors through preclinical development as therapies for autoimmune diseases (SDC-1801) and cancers (SDC-1802). TYK2 and JAK1 have roles in pro-inflammatory responses in autoimmune diseases (e.g. psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel diseases and lupus) and tumour cell proliferation in certain cancers (e.g. T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and some solid tumours). The Company is targeting first human clinical trials in each indication in 2020.

The Company also has an Aurora+FLT3 inhibitor targeting haematological cancers, which is at the preclinical development stage.

Sareum Holdings plc is listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange, trading under the ticker SAR. For further information, please visit www.sareum.co.uk

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