SAN DIEGO, Jan. 15, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Mirati Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: MRTX), a clinical stage targeted oncology company, announced today that it has dosed the first patient in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial of MRTX849, an investigational KRAS G12C inhibitor for patients with advanced solid tumors that harbor KRAS G12C mutations.

"Today we have achieved an important milestone in the battle against cancers driven by KRAS mutations, one of the most common and difficult to treat patient populations. MRTX849 has been designed to specifically target KRAS G12C mutations, which are thought to be responsible for at least 14% of non-small cell lung adenocarcinoma, 4% of colorectal cancer, and subsets of other types of cancers," said Charles Baum, M.D., Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Mirati. "In preclinical studies MRTX849 potently and specifically bound to KRAS G12C and produced durable tumor regressions in patient-derived cancer models implanted in mice. Our Phase 1/2 clinical trial is designed to rapidly advance MRTX849 towards registration and approval."

"There are no approved targeted treatment options for patients with KRAS-driven cancers," said Pasi A. Jänne, M.D., Ph.D., Mirati Scientific Advisory Board Member, and Director of the Lowe Center for Thoracic Oncology at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. "The development of a direct inhibitor of KRAS G12C is an important advancement in the field and this clinical study is designed to rapidly and efficiently evaluate the tolerability and efficacy of MRTX849 to treat patients with tumors driven by this mutation." 

Mirati's Phase 1/2 clinical trial will evaluate MRTX849 as a single agent in patients with advanced solid tumors that harbor KRAS G12C mutations. The Phase 1 dose escalation phase of the trial will assess the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and preliminary anti-tumor activity of MRTX849 in patients with molecularly-identified KRAS G12C-positive advanced solid tumors.  A dose expansion phase is planned to follow the selection of a recommended Phase 2 dose. Additional information can be found at https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03785249.

About MRTX849

MRTX849 is an investigational, orally-available small molecule that is designed to potently and selectively inhibit a form of KRAS which harbors a substitution mutation (G12C). KRAS G12C mutations are present in approximately 14% of NSCLC adenocarcinoma patients, 4% of colorectal cancer patients, and subsets of other types of cancer. Tumors characterized by KRAS G12C mutations are commonly associated with poor prognosis and resistance to therapy, and patients with these mutations have few treatment options. MRTX849 is being evaluated in a Phase 1/2 trial treating patients with molecularly-identified KRAS G12C-positive advanced solid tumors.

About Mirati Therapeutics

Mirati Therapeutics (NASDAQ: MRTX) is a San Diego-based clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to advancing novel therapeutics that extend the lives of patients by directly addressing the genetic and immunological drivers of cancer. Mirati's lead drug candidate, sitravatinib, is designed to selectively target a spectrum of tyrosine kinases implicated in both tumor growth and the suppression of immune responses to tumors. Sitravatinib has demonstrated durable responses in lung cancer patients who progressed after treatment with checkpoint inhibitors; an area of significant unmet medical need. Sitravatinib is being evaluated in multiple clinical trials to treat patients who are refractory to prior immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy, including a potentially registration-enabling Phase 3 trial of sitravatinib in non-small cell lung cancer projected to initiate in the first half of 2019. Sitravatinib is also being evaluated as a single agent in patients with NSCLC, melanoma and other solid tumor types whose tumors harbor specific genetic alterations in CBL.

Mirati is also developing novel inhibitors of KRAS mutations including MRTX849, a potent and selective inhibitor of KRAS G12C. This previously difficult to drug target drives approximately 14% of non-small cell lung adenocarcinomas, 4% of colorectal cancer as well as smaller percentages of several other difficult-to-treat cancers. MRTX849 is being evaluated in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial as a treatment for patients with KRAS G12C-positive tumors. Our research on G12C has led to breakthroughs in targeting other KRAS mutations including G12D which drives tumor growth in more patients than G12C and includes pancreatic, colorectal and other types of cancer.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statements in this press release regarding the business of Mirati Therapeutics, Inc. ("Mirati") that are not historical facts may be considered "forward-looking statements," including without limitation statements regarding Mirati's development plans and timelines, potential regulatory actions, the scope, timing and results of clinical trials, including the Phase 1/2 clinical trial of MRTX849 and the potential benefits of and markets for Mirati's product candidates. Forward-looking statements are typically, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "may," "will," "would," "believe," "intend," "plan," "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," and other similar terminology indicating future results. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations of management and on what management believes to be reasonable assumptions based on information currently available to them, and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Such risks and uncertainties may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include without limitation potential delays in development timelines, negative clinical trial results, reliance on third parties for development efforts, changes in the competitive landscape, changes in the standard of care, as well as other risks detailed in Mirati's recent filings on Forms 10-K and 10-Q with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by law, Mirati undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect new information, events or circumstances, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

SOURCE Mirati Therapeutics, Inc.

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