Preclinical Data for SRA737 in Ovarian Cancer

Sareum Holdings plc

("Sareum" or "the Company")

Sierra Oncology Reports Supportive Preclinical Data for SRA737 in Ovarian Cancer Models

Sareum Holdings plc (AIM: SAR), the specialist small molecule drug development business, notes that Sierra Oncology, the licence holder advancing clinical cancer candidate SRA737, has today reported new preclinical data that support its ongoing clinical trial with SRA737 as a monotherapy in ovarian cancer. The data were presented in a poster at the 30^th EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium currently being held in Dublin, Ireland.

As reported in the poster:

·    Chk1 inhibition by SRA737 shows promising efficacy in CCNE1-amplified and MYCN overexpressing preclinical models of high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC)

·    The in vivo data support the ongoing monotherapy clinical trial of SRA737, which includes the prospective enrolment of patients with these HGSOC subtypes

·    Furthermore, the preclinical data suggest that the exploration of potential combination regimens with other compounds, such as low dose gemcitabine and PARP inhibitors, is warranted for HGSOC

Dr Tim Mitchell, CEO of Sareum Holdings plc, said: "The data presented today continue to provide evidence that SRA737 has potential in ovarian cancer where the tumours exhibit defective cell cycle checkpoint control and replicative stress, and which is identifiable by genetic markers. This represents a significant proportion of HGSOC patients who currently have few treatment options. We are encouraged by the new data, which supports the rationale for Sierra's clinical study with SRA737 as a monotherapy, and look forward to updates from the ongoing clinical trials in the first half of 2019."

Title: SRA737, a novel Chk1 inhibitor, shows efficacy in CCNE1-amplified and MYCN-overexpressing high-grade serous ovarian cancer patient-derived xenograft models

Authors: G.Y. Ho, et al.

The full announcement by Sierra Oncology can be found by clicking here

A copy of poster can be found here: http://investor.sierraoncology.com/publications 

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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 and cancers. 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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