Ikena Oncology Announces New Program in Next-Generation MEK-RAF Inhibition and Provides Corporate Update

Novel best-in-class MEK-RAF complex inhibitor IK-595 targets RAS pathway; IND in 2023

Novel paralog-selective TEAD inhibitor IK-930 advancing as planned in dose escalation; clinical data in 2023

Company prioritizes advancement of targeted oncology portfolio; cash runway extended into 2025

Excerpt from the Press Release:

BOSTON, Nov. 28, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Ikena Oncology, Inc. (Nasdaq: IKNA, “Ikena”), a targeted oncology company forging new territory in patient-directed cancer treatment, today announced a next-generation mitogen-activated protein kinase (MEK)-RAF complex inhibitor, IK-595, has been nominated as the company’s first development candidate in the RAS pathway.

The RAS pathway is implicated in at least half a million new cancer diagnosis each year in the United States alone. Ikena aims to target the pathway on multiple levels, including preventing known resistance mechanisms to achieve deep and sustained responses. Ikena’s new development candidate, IK-595, traps MEK and RAF in an inactive complex, more completely inhibiting RAS signals than existing inhibitors. IK-595’s ability to complex CRAF, in particular, prevents a well-recognized signaling bypass mechanism that cancer cells employ to drive therapeutic resistance to other drugs in this class. In addition, trapping CRAF in an inactive complex prevents the kinase independent anti-apoptotic function in RAS and RAF mutant cancers, a mechanism that cannot be addressed with first generation MEK inhibitors or pan-RAF inhibitors. IK-595 is being developed as an oral therapy, with a half-life enabling a pharmacokinetic profile potentially superior to other drugs, with the goal of developing an optimal therapeutic window for patients. The company plans to submit an investigational new drug application (IND) for IK-595 to the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) in the second half of 2023.

“I am thrilled to announce this addition to our pipeline, one that adds to our holistic approach to the Hippo & RAS oncosignaling network. IK-595 inhibits multiple nodes of MEK-RAF signaling, including avoiding known mechanisms of resistance,” said Mark Manfredi, PhD, Ikena’s Chief Executive Officer.

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