Verastem presents avutometinib and defactinib combination program updates

Verastem Oncology announced the presentation of scientific background and clinical trial updates on the avutometinib and defactinib programs at the 5th Annual RAS-Targeted Drug Development Summit in Boston, Massachusetts. The updates are part of two oral presentations by Jonathan Pachter, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer and Louis Denis, MD, Chief Medical Officer at Verastem Oncology. The clinical presentation includes updated FRAME study efficacy data showing an overall response rate, or ORR, of 42% in evaluable patients with low grade serous ovarian cancer, or LGSOC. Among patients with KRAS mutant LGSOC, the ORR was 58%, compared to patients with KRAS wild-type LGSOC, the ORR was 33%. Across all LGSOC patients, the median duration of response was 26.9 months while median progression free survival, or PFS, was 20.0 months. As of the July 2023 data cutoff date, 19% of patients were still on study treatment with a minimum follow-up of 17 months. “We are encouraged that the high rate and long duration of objective responses in the recurrent LGSOC cohort of the FRAME study continue to provide foundational proof-of-concept supporting Breakthrough Therapy Designation for the combination of avutometinib and defactinib,” said Dan Paterson, President and CEO of Verastem Oncology.