Curis, Inc. announced that Robert Martell, M.D., Ph.D., has been appointed Head of Research and Development. In this newly created role, Dr. Martell, a practicing oncologist and experienced drug developer, will directly manage the day-to-day operations of the Curis clinical development and research efforts. Dr. Martell is a member of the Board of Directors of Curis, and will resign from his board duties simultaneous with his start date on June 1st. The company also announced the retirement of Dr. David Tuck, Chief Medical Officer, who will be leaving Curis in August to return to academic clinical research.
Curis, Inc. is a biotechnology company. The Company is focused on the development of emavusertib (CA-4948), an orally available, small molecule inhibitor of Interleukin-1 receptor associated kinase (IRAK4). Emavusertib is undergoing testing in the Phase I/II TakeAim Lymphoma study in patients with relapsed/refractory primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) in combination with the BTK inhibitor ibrutinib, as a monotherapy in the Phase I/II TakeAim Leukemia study in patients with relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and relapsed/refractory high risk myelodysplastic syndrome (hrMDS). Its other clinical programs include Fimepinostat and CA-170. Fimepinostat is an oral, dual inhibitor of histone deacetylase (HDAC), and phosphotidyl-inositol 3 kinase (PI3K) enzymes. CA-170 is an oral small molecule drug candidate that is designed to selectively target V-domain Ig Suppressor of T-cell Activation (VISTA) and PDL1 immune checkpoint proteins.