While completing their post-doctoral research targeting the menin-MLL interaction in leukemia, Jolanta (Jola) Grembecka, Ph.D., and Dr. Tomasz (Tomek) Cierpicki, Ph.D., weren’t sure their discoveries would ever make it to clinical trials, especially with the industry’s hesitation around therapies targeting protein-protein interactions. Their findings soon showed potential for the treatment of acute leukemias, including acute myeloid leukemia (AML). AML is a devastating form of cancer with high rates of relapse. Despite the many available treatments for AML, prognosis for patients remains poor and a high unmet need remains, making this research all the more meaningful.
Following Drs. Grembecka and Cierpicki’s early research, they secured funding through The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Therapy Acceleration Program (TAP) to support further understanding of menin inhibitors. Once they had demonstrated the activity of their compounds in vivo, Lee Greenberger, Ph.D., LLS Chief Scientific Officer, introduced them to Kura Oncology President and CEO Troy Wilson, who appreciated the budding potential of their discoveries.
This introduction soon evolved into a partnership that led to the menin inhibitor program at Kura Oncology. Menin inhibitors are now being investigated in monotherapy and combination therapy clinical trials in patients with newly diagnosed or relapsed/refractory NPM1-mutant or KMT2A-rearranged AML. Kura’s deep expertise in clinical development, along with its expert team of bench scientists, helped shepherd the program from discovery to clinical trials.
The close collaboration of Kura Oncology, Drs. Grembecka and Cierpicki, and the full team at LLS shows it takes a village to progress early, promising research into potential therapies for the patients who need them.
Recently, University of Michigan’s Dr. Grembecka and Dr. Cierpicki, LLS’s Dr. Greenberger, and Kura Oncology’s Troy Wilson, J.D., Ph.D., Francis Burrows, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Translational Research, and Linda Kessler, Director of Medical/Scientific Affairs, recounted the history of how Kura Oncology’s menin inhibitor program came to be and the importance of partnership in drug development.
