Curis and Genentech in Hedgehog development

Curis and Genentech have filed an Investigational New Drug (IND) application with the FDA to initiate human clinical investigation of a drug candidate for the topical treatment of basal cell carcinoma.

The cancer is the most common form of all human cancers with approximately 800,000 to 1,000,000 new cases reported every year in the US. This drug candidate, an antagonist of the Hedgehog signaling pathway, was discovered by Curis and is being co-developed through a collaboration with Genentech.

Daniel Passeri, president and chief executive officer of Curis, said: 'The filing of this IND is an important milestone for Curis. We are very pleased to be collaborating with Genentech on the development of this drug candidate. We believe that Genentech's proven expertise in the development of specifically targeted cancer therapeutics will provide an effective path forward for the Hedgehog pathway antagonist drug candidates.'

Dr Lee Rubin, Curis' senior vice president for research and chief scientific officer, said: 'Preclinical research has suggested that the Hedgehog antagonists have the potential to selectively kill tumour cells while not harming adjacent normal cells. This selectivity contrasts with more traditional cancer treatments that often kill both cancer cells and normal cells. We believe that inhibition of the Hedgehog signaling pathway represents a truly novel approach for the treatment of certain cancers.'