Curis Q2 2024 Earnings Report

Curis EPS Results

• Actual EPS: -$2.03
• Consensus EPS: -$1.67
• Beat/Miss: Missed by -$0.36
• One Year Ago EPS: -$2.40

Curis Revenue Results

• Actual Revenue: $2.55 million
• Expected Revenue: $2.20 million
• Beat/Miss: Beat by +$350.00 thousand
• YoY Revenue Growth: N/A

Curis Announcement Details

• Quarter: Q2 2024
• Date: 8/1/2024
• Time: Before Market Opens
• Conference Call Date: Thursday, August 1, 2024
• Conference Call Time: 8:30AM ET

Curis (NASDAQ:CRIS) is a biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of targeted small molecule and antibody therapeutics for the treatment of cancer. The company’s research centers on exploiting key signaling pathways and tumor microenvironment interactions to develop compounds with the potential to address unmet medical needs. Curis’ proprietary pipeline includes multiple programs at various stages of clinical and preclinical development, reflecting its emphasis on innovative oncology drug candidates.

Among Curis’ lead assets is CA-4948, an oral inhibitor of interleukin-1 receptor–associated kinase 4 (IRAK4) partnered with Ikena Oncology, which is being evaluated in hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. The company’s earlier success includes the development of vismodegib, marketed as Erivedge® through a collaboration and subsequent acquisition by Genentech, for the treatment of advanced basal cell carcinoma. Curis continues to pursue partnerships to advance its pipeline and leverage external expertise for product registration and commercialization.

Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Lexington, Massachusetts, Curis operates research facilities in the greater Boston area and collaborates with academic institutions and industry partners worldwide. The company’s integrated discovery and development platform has been instrumental in generating therapeutic candidates across multiple cancer indications, with a strategic focus on precision medicines that offer the potential for improved patient outcomes and differentiated safety profiles.

Curis is led by President and Chief Executive Officer Ali Fattaey, Ph.D., who joined the company in 2019 and brings extensive experience in oncology research and drug development. The senior management team comprises seasoned professionals in clinical development, regulatory affairs and commercial strategy, underscoring Curis’ commitment to advancing its pipeline candidates through critical regulatory milestones and toward potential market approval.

Curis Q2 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

Key Takeaways

• Early PCNSL data: Emavusertib plus ibrutinib achieved over 50% objective response rate in the first five relapsed/refractory primary CNS lymphoma patients, prompting FDA discussions on a registrational path and granting of EU orphan drug designation.
• AML monotherapy responses: In relapsed/refractory AML, emavusertib demonstrated objective responses in 4 of 18 splicing-factor–mutant patients and 6 of 11 FLT3-mutant patients, including both FLT3-inhibitor–naive and –experienced cohorts.
• Frontline AML trial launched: A new study combining emavusertib with azacitidine and venetoclax in frontline AML is underway, with initial safety readouts expected later this year.
• Cash runway into Q1 2025: Curis ended Q2 with $28.4 million in cash and investments, funding planned operations only into early 2025 and likely requiring additional financing.
• Q2 net loss improved slightly to $11.8 million ($2.03/share) versus $12 million ($2.47/share) last year, while R&D and G&A expenses rose modestly due to higher employee-related costs.

Presentation

[Operator]

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Curis Provides Second Quarter 2024 Business Update Conference Call. At this time, all lines are in listen-only mode. Following the presentation, we will conduct a question-and-answer session. If at any time during this call you require immediate assistance, please press star zero for the operator. This call is being recorded on Thursday, August 1, 2024. I would now like to turn the conference over to Diantha Duvall. Please go ahead.

[Diantha Duvall, Head of Investor Relations at Curis]

Thank you, and welcome to Curis's second quarter 2024 business update call. Before we begin, I would like to encourage everyone to go to the investor section of our website at www.curis.com to find our second quarter 2024 business update press release and related financial statements. I would also like to remind everyone that during the call, we will be making forward-looking statements, which are based on our current expectations and beliefs. These statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially. For additional details, please see our SEC filings. Joining me on today's call are Jim Dentzer, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Jonathan Zung, Chief Development Officer. We will also be available for a question-and-answer period at the end of the call. I'd now like to turn the call over to Jim.

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

Thank you, Diantha. Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Curis's second quarter business update call. Let's start with our Take Aim Lymphoma study, which is evaluating emavusertib in combination with ibrutinib in relapsed refractory PCNSL patients that have failed after treatment with a BTK inhibitor. These patients have generally seen methotrexate, chemo, and radiation in the frontline setting, followed by ibrutinib in the second line. As patients progress on ibrutinib, they're eligible to enroll into our study, where we add emavusertib to their ibrutinib regimen. The scientific thesis for this combination is that blocking both of the pathways driving NHL, the TLR pathway with emavusertib and the BCR pathway with ibrutinib, can enable patients to achieve an objective response even after they have progressed on ibrutinib in monotherapy.

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

We presented data for the first 5 patients in this study at the ASH conference last December, where we reported an objective response rate over 50%. These data were early but very encouraging, especially given the high unmet need in this population. We have continued to enroll patients in this study, and, as we noted in our press release this morning, have recently initiated discussions with regulatory authorities to gain alignment on the registrational path for emavusertib in combination with ibrutinib in primary CNSL. It goes without saying that defining the registrational path is a critical next step in emavusertib's development, and I'm pleased with our most recent engagement with FDA. I look forward to communicating the outcome of these discussions at the appropriate time.

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

Discussions are also progressing in Europe, where we're pleased to report that emavusertib has been granted orphan drug designation for Primary CNS Lymphoma by the European Commission. This designation provides several benefits, including 10 years of market exclusivity, reduced fees for protocol and scientific assistance, as well as marketing authorization applications, and a central application process for marketing authorization with the European Medicines Agency. While these regulatory discussions are ongoing, we continue to make excellent progress on the operational front as well and expect to reach our target number of 30 clinical sites in the U.S. and Europe and have initial data for 15-20 patients by year-end. Now let's move to our Take Aim Leukemia study, which is evaluating emavusertib in monotherapy in patients with relapsed refractory AML.

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

At ASCO and EHA earlier this year, we provided updated data for two patient populations in this study: patients with a splicing factor mutation and patients with a FLT3 mutation. In the splicing factor mutation, 4 of 18 evaluable patients achieved an objective response, including 1 complete remission, or CR, 2 CRs with partial hematologic recovery, or CRH, and 1 morphologic leukemia-free state, or MLFS. In the FLT3 population, 6 of 11 evaluable patients achieved an objective response, including 3 CRs, 1 CRH, and 2 MLFSs. Also of note, 3 of the patients were naive to treatment with a FLT3 inhibitor. All 3 of these patients achieved objective responses. And 3 of the remaining 8 patients, those who had failed prior treatment with a FLT3 inhibitor, were able to achieve an objective response with emavusertib.

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

We believe these data support emavusertib's novel mechanism and its potential as a treatment for patients with relapsed refractory AML. In the frontline setting, you may remember that preclinical data demonstrate a synergistic effect when emavusertib is combined with azacitidine and venetoclax, the standard of care in frontline AML. We recently initiated a study of this triple combination, that is, emavusertib in combination with azacitidine and venetoclax in frontline AML....We expect to have initial safety data from this study later this year. Overall, I'm very pleased with the progress in both our Take Aim leukemia and Take Aim lymphoma studies, and I look forward to providing additional updates as the year progresses. With that, I'll turn the call over to Diantha for the financial update.

[Diantha Duvall, Head of Investor Relations at Curis]

Thank you, Jim. Curis reported a net loss of $11.8 million, or $2.03 per share, as compared to a net loss of $12 million, or $2.47 per share, for the same period in 2023. Curis reported a net loss of $23.7 million, or $4.08 per share, for the six months ended June 30, 2024, as compared to a net loss of $23.5 million, or $4.87 per share, for the same period in 2023. Research and development expenses were $10.3 million for the second quarter of 2024, as compared to $10 million for the same period in 2023.

[Diantha Duvall, Head of Investor Relations at Curis]

Research and development expenses were $19.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024, as compared to $19.2 million for the same period in 2023. General and administrative expenses were $4.8 million for the second quarter of 2024, as compared to $4.2 million for the same period in 2023. General and administrative expenses were $9.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024, as compared to $9 million for the same period in 2023. The increases in both research and development and general and administrative expenses are primarily attributable to higher employee-related costs. Curis' cash, cash equivalents and investments totaled $28.4 million, and there were approximately 5.9 million shares of common stock outstanding.

[Diantha Duvall, Head of Investor Relations at Curis]

We expect that our existing cash, cash equivalents and investments should enable us to maintain our planned operations into the first quarter of 2025. With that, I'd like to open the call for questions. Operator?

[Operator]

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin the question and answer session. Should you have a question, please press the star button followed by the number 1 on your touchtone phone. You will hear a prompt that your hand has been raised. Should you wish to decline from the polling process, please press the star button followed by the number 2. If you are using a speakerphone, please lift the handset before pressing any keys. One moment, please, for your first question. Your first question comes from the line of Yale Jen of Laidlaw. Please go ahead.

[Yale Jen, Analyst at Laidlaw]

Good morning, and thanks for taking the question, and congrats on all the progress. I got two here. The first one is that in terms of the PCNSL readout toward the end of the year, what do you consider to be the bar for advancing the program forward? In other words, what would be the sort of guidepost that you were looking for? Then I have a follow-up.

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

So just as a reminder, Yale, thank you, by the way, for calling in for the question. As a reminder, we're looking to treat patients who have failed a BTK inhibitor. So let's put this into perspective. They failed first-line treatment. They failed the BTK inhibitor. If we retreated them with the BTK inhibitor, which is really that same choice over again, of course, they wouldn't respond. What we're looking to see is if we can get objective responses, period. Now, I realize it's the data have been a lot better than that so far, but I think the bar for patients is, can we show that the thesis holds? That even if you failed on a BTK inhibitor, adding emavusertib to it fundamentally changes the efficacy of that regimen. That's what we're really looking for.

[Yale Jen, Analyst at Laidlaw]

Okay.

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

And, of course, in a large-

[Yale Jen, Analyst at Laidlaw]

Very helpful.

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

In a larger number of patients, right? Of course.

[Yale Jen, Analyst at Laidlaw]

Absolutely. And, you anticipate about maybe 15, at least 15 patients at roughly the time when you report the data?

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

That's right.

[Yale Jen, Analyst at Laidlaw]

Okay. And maybe the follow-up question here is that, in terms of the leukemia, congrats on all the data, the positive data reported earlier, and the... I believe you have mentioned there's different options, you can pursue going forward, obviously, depends on the data to be reported in the near future.

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

Mm-hmm.

[Yale Jen, Analyst at Laidlaw]

With some of the options in terms of plus three, you could have either for the naive patient or treatment-experienced patients, or as well as if for the FFM, you would obviously have experienced the patients on the that only. How would you consider different optionality, or maybe you, you want to take it all heading to 2025?

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

Sure. So as you know, in leukemia, there's more optionality, and that's a fortunate consequence of the design of the molecule, right? Because the molecule hits IRAK4, which is expressed in nearly every pa-

[Yale Jen, Analyst at Laidlaw]

Hello? Hello?

[Operator]

Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to inform you that the speaker has been disconnected. Please wait a while. Thank you.

[Ed White, Analyst at H.C. Wainwright]

... I know she knows where that is. I'm trying that phone as well.

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

Operator, this is Jonathan Zung from Curis. Jim is trying to dial back in.

[Ed White, Analyst at H.C. Wainwright]

We're back in, Jonathan Zung.

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

Okay.

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

Thank you very much.

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

Yeah, sorry. Not sure what happened. We got disconnected from the call. So I was answering Yale Jen's questions. Yale, perhaps you can help me with where I got cut off?

[Yale Jen, Analyst at Laidlaw]

Sure. Not a problem. The second question is that, for the leukemia, you have different options that to contemplate in terms of whether for FLT3, you will treat, you know, targeting either the naive, treatment-naive or treatment-experienced, as well as, for the splicing factor mutation, that you would treat obviously only the treatment-experienced. So among the three options, I guess, whether you want the two, one, two, or all?

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

Yeah. A couple of thoughts. Let's first talk about frontline therapy, which would be combination, and then separately, monotherapy with FLT3, and then within FLT3, of course, breaking it out into the separate groups for naive and for experienced.

[Yale Jen, Analyst at Laidlaw]

Sure.

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

As you know, one of the things that makes the molecule more attractive in the leukemia setting is that it hits IRAK4 and FLT3. IRAK4 being expressed in nearly all patients with AML, and then also FLT3, where the FLT3 mutation we know is present in roughly a third of the population. So because it has that unique targeting, we think it could have a monotherapy application in leukemia, as opposed to frontline, where we think it will be available to all comers in combination with azacitidine and venetoclax, and of course, in non-Hodgkin's, when it combines with ibrutinib. In the FLT3 subpopulation, as we look at monotherapy, you're exactly right, it could be appropriate for both naive patients and experienced patients. It would be ideal, of course, with infinite resources, to chase after all of those populations.

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

I think one of the discussions we're going to have year-end, as we report a more full reading of the data set at ASH, is of course which of these populations are we going to prioritize for moving forward most aggressively? So I would say stay tuned for that discussion, but all of those opportunities are in front of us.

[Yale Jen, Analyst at Laidlaw]

... Okay, great. That's very helpful. And, maybe just make it one more, which is in terms of the IRAK4 symposium, what might be the highlight for the upcoming one? And thanks.

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

Yeah. Yeah, I think the IRAK4 symposium, we're very pleased to be doing that again this year. As you know, the level of interest in IRAK4 as a whole has gone up in the academic community every year since we first started publishing about IRAK4's utility on oncology. We've got a, I think, a really great cross-section of people involved this year, looking at leukemia experts, lymphoma experts, and also highlighting work in solid tumors. So the clinical data that Curis has been focusing on today and in our public forums is really in leukemia and lymphoma, because that's where our clinical data are. But we've also got five ISTs ongoing in solid tumors, and there is a wealth of really interesting preclinical data, and several of them are initiating studies now into patients as well.

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

I expect in the months, quarters, and years to come, that's going to become an increasingly important and interesting part of the story.

[Yale Jen, Analyst at Laidlaw]

Okay, great. Thanks a lot. It's very helpful and congrats on the progress. Look forward to ASH for more details.

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

Thank you very much.

[Operator]

Thank you. Your next question comes from the line of Ed White of H.C. Wainwright. Please go ahead.

[Ed White, Analyst at H.C. Wainwright]

Good morning. Thanks for taking my question. Jim, you mentioned-

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

Thank you.

[Ed White, Analyst at H.C. Wainwright]

when you're discussing PCNSL, that you recently met with the FDA to discuss those registrational paths. Just wanted to know your thoughts on what your ideal regulatory path would be. Thanks.

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

Well, I think we would like to move as expeditiously as we can, of course. You know, the typical path in drug development is to conclude your phase 1/2 study and have an end-of-phase meeting and then talk about with the FDA, how do you design the pivotal study? I think in this case, because the unmet need is so clear, obviously the data that we put out last December looked very compelling, and I think we thought it was appropriate to initiate these discussions a little ahead of schedule, and we're grateful that the regulatory authorities were amenable to having those discussions.

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

So we're in the middle of them now, and of course, I can't comment on ongoing discussions, but we would look forward to working with both FDA and EMA on the most expeditious path to get this drug available to patients who sorely need it.

[Ed White, Analyst at H.C. Wainwright]

Okay, Jim. Thanks for taking my question.

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

You bet. Thank you. Operator?

[Operator]

Thank you for that. Our next question comes from the line of Soumit Roy. Please go ahead.

[Operator]

Hi, good morning, Jim and everyone. Sorry, I was a little delayed, and I missed the first few minutes of your prepared remarks. Are you still pursuing the relapsed refractory path for FLT3 or spliceosome in, with AML monotherapy, going forward? Is that the FDA conversation about?

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

Yeah. So, there was a similar question from Yale Jen at Laidlaw, about that. Thank you, Soumit. So, as you know, we've got opportunities in leukemia in both monotherapy and combination, and of course, the combination opportunity in NHL. The NHL one is probably in the foremost of people's minds because that appears to be the one that's farthest along. You know, as I say, we're already in discussions with regulatory authorities on what that registrational design ought to be. I think with AML, FLT3 and spliceosome as monotherapy, those data look really interesting. We're going to have a readout of that data set of roughly 20 patients in each group, by year-end.

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

And then, of course, the combination, which we would expect, if it does mirror what we saw in the lab, we would expect this could be a really interesting add to frontline, to current standard of care in that setting. I think for FLT3 and spliceosome, as we see those mature data, we'll have that conversation at that time when it comes out. And of course, the initial readout, even though it's just a safety readout, there are a lot of people interested in that as well. We're going to have a high class headache in front of ourselves, to prioritize which of these studies we focus on, first and fastest, but hold that thought.

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

Okay. So, is it fair to expect these FDA meetings would be held post ASH, maybe first quarter of 2025? Or should we-

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

For NHL?

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

For-

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

Those discussions are already in process. For FLT3, we would wait to see what the data look like before we would reach out to FDA. I think in AML, the landscape is more crowded. In primary CNS lymphoma, as you know, there are no drugs approved. In the third line setting, I realize our data are early, but it's showing the kind of result that there isn't a comparable result in that setting for these patients. So I think given the clear unmet need and given the data that we've seen to date, we think there's an opportunity to get a treatment to patients that appears to be, in these early days, very promising. So we want to move on that as aggressively as we can, and as I said, we're grateful that the regulatory authorities-...

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

Agreed to pick up that discussion earlier than we would normally do it.

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

Got it. By NHL, you mean the PCNSL subtype?

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

Yes.

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

Okay.

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

Yes. Yeah.

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

And are you seeing any specific when you're approaching the physicians for the enrollment, are you seeing any specific comments, like are they reluctant or, there is no other options for these patients, so it's an easy pitch to use AML in this setting?

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

No, I, unfortunately for the patients, but fortunately for the study, I think there's the unmet need in this population is well, frankly, it's horrible for those patients. There are no drugs approved. Frontline, as you know, it's really high-dose methotrexate, chemo, and whole brain radiation. Once they progress on that, they typically go on ibrutinib, and then after that, there really is nothing. You know, we hope to be part of a solution for these patients, that in bringing this new treatment, it looks as though, early days, early data, but it has the potential to be very promising. And so, as I say, we continue to enroll. We have a lot of enthusiasm among the community. I know when you went to the conference, you were able to catch up with several of the investigators yourself.

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

You know, enthusiasm is really quite high. Early days, we know. I always want to be careful to mention that, but, you know, I have to say, we're very excited by what we're seeing. Our physicians are very excited, and, we're glad that the regulatory authorities were interested in entertaining the discussions a little ahead of schedule, which was, of course, very encouraging for us.

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

Right. As we saw with Gilead's CAR T, also in PCNSL, it's a fairly high ICANS event, so small molecule overall safety profile certainly allows it. Another question, and maybe a little bit aside from the blood cancer, in the solid tumor, do we have any visibility if the bladder cancer trial, when it will start recruiting? I know this is investigator-run trial with Keytruda and emavusertib. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

Sure. So as you know, we've got 5 investigator-sponsored trials going on right now in solid tumors. We've been focusing on the NHL study and of course, the leukemia study, because those are the ones that are company-sponsored, and those are the ones where we've got clinical data. But we've got studies going on in pancreatic and gastroesophageal, melanoma, urothelial, bladder cancer, and colorectal as well. All of those studies have really nice preclinical data that have been published at various conferences over the last 12-24 months, and we're now at the point where they're moving into the clinic, which is really exciting. I hope we'll be in a position to see results from some of these studies in 2025. But again, these are ISTs. They're investigator-sponsored trials.

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

They're not company-sponsored, so of course, we don't actually have control over either the enrollment or the reporting of data from those studies. But we're watching them with great interest and of course, you know, very appreciative of the collaboration with each of these study sponsors.

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

Thank you again for taking all the questions, and congrats on the progress.

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

Thank you very much.

[Operator]

Your next question comes from the line of Li Watsek from Cantor. Please go ahead.

[Li Watsek, Analyst at Cantor]

Hey, good morning, guys. Sorry if I missed it earlier, but Jim, maybe just a strategic question in terms of, you know, how you view the opportunity in lymphoma versus AML. It sounds like the unmet need there in lymphoma is a little bit higher and maybe less competitive. So how are you thinking about maybe prioritize lymphoma versus AML? Are you waiting for some maybe regulatory input to make a decision?

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

Yeah. Thank you, Lee. Thanks for calling in. Thanks for the question. So in NHL versus AML, there are a couple of ways to answer that question. Of course, I think the interest in NHL is partially because that's the most recent data, and that's the one where we're in discussions, of course, with regulatory agencies. Across the landscape of NHL, it's obviously a much larger market as well. And so BTK inhibitors in 2023 had revenue of $11 billion. It's just a, it's a massive space that hasn't had any novel drugs enter into it, excuse me, in recent years.

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

And if our recent data hold, we of course would look to move very aggressively in primary CNS lymphoma, and then with those data in hand and those processes underway, we would go, you know, across NHL to all of those other indications. I think that's really building the excitement from investors and why we focus on that more. In leukemia, I think the excitement is, while it is a more competitive space, as you note, the molecule really seems to be fortuitously designed for an AML setting. I mean, it was obviously deliberately designed as an IRAK4 inhibitor, and as you know, we deliberately designed key oncology targets of interest. But because it hits IRAK4 and FLT3, it really has the ability to offer an unusual benefit, a unique and independent targeted benefit for patients in that setting.

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

So, yes, I think the excitement on NHL is partially because of the advanced state of the data within the context of the unmet need and the regulatory progress, but AML also very certainly very high on our radar screen.

[Li Watsek, Analyst at Cantor]

Okay. And then... Yes, I appreciate the color. And then maybe a question on the frontline AML combo strategy. Just curious if, if there is a plan to maybe stratify by, IRAK4 long expression and maybe have a step plan built around that as well as for all comers?

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

Yeah. So, thank you. I think we're thinking in leukemia, as you note, or certainly as you're implying, that there is a separate strategy for monotherapy versus combination. So, with FLT3 as an additional target, I think that offers the ability, given that the drug targets both IRAK4 and FLT3, offers the potential for best-in-class therapy among the FLT3 inhibitors, which is a third of the population in AML. And again, I know you know this, but for the benefit of others on the call, the research that we're pointing to, originally published with the Melgar paper, showed that the reason why patients on a FLT3 inhibitor don't do better than you might expect on a FLT3 inhibitor is the escape path is IRAK4. It's specifically toll-like receptor path signaling through IRAK4.

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

So by blocking both FLT3 and IRAK4, we're blocking both the primary driver, primary path of the disease and its escape path. And that really, in our view, even though the data are early, it explains why the data look to be better than other FLT3 inhibitors. So monotherapy there, I think, is a really exciting alternative. In frontline, we just started that study, so we need to see whether or not it'll pan out, but the preclinical data are clear. IRAK4 is expressed in nearly every patient with AML in all comers, and we know azacitidine and venetoclax, which is the current standard of care, don't hit it. So the preclinical data showed that when you added emavusertib to standards of care, when you added ema to the AzaVen doublet, there was a significant increase in efficacy.

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

And we hope to see that in patients, and we've just started that study, but stay tuned. I hope that helps.

[Li Watsek, Analyst at Cantor]

Thanks.

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

Yep.

[Operator]

Once again, ladies and gentlemen, should you have a question, please press the star button followed by the number one on your touchtone phone, and then you will hear a prompt that your hand has been raised. There are no further questions at this time. I'd now like to turn the call back over to Jim. Please go ahead.

[Jim Dentzer, President and CEO at Curis]

Thank you, operator, and thank you everyone for joining today's call. And as always, thank you to the patients and families participating in our clinical trials, to our team at Curis, for their hard work and commitment, and to our partners at Aurigene, the NCI, and the academic community for their ongoing collaboration and support. We look forward to updating you again soon. Operator?

[Operator]

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes your conference call for today. We thank you for participating and ask that you please disconnect your lines.

Participants

Executives

• Diantha Duvall, Head of Investor Relations
• Jim Dentzer, President and CEO

Analysts

• Ed White, Analyst at H.C. Wainwright
• Li Watsek, Analyst at Cantor
• Yale Jen, Analyst at Laidlaw