STORM Therapeutics to present the discovery of lead clinical candidate STC-15 at the American Chemical Society Fall 2023 Conference

STORM's lead programme is the first RNA methyltransferase inhibitor to enter clinical development

CAMBRIDGE, England, Aug. 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- STORM Therapeutics Ltd. (STORM), a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing novel small molecule therapies targeting RNA modifying enzymes (RMEs) for oncology and other diseases, is pleased to announce that it will be presenting the discovery of its lead clinical candidate, STC-15, which is an orally bioavailable and highly selective METTL3 inhibitor, at the American Chemical Society (ACS) Fall 2023 Conference, in San Francisco, California on the 13-17 August 2023.

The presentation entitled "Discovery of STC-15, an orally bioavailable, highly selective METTL3 inhibitor for the treatment of AML and solid tumours: The first molecule specifically targeting an RNA methyltransferase enzyme to enter clinical development" will detail the Company's discovery efforts in optimising novel chemistries and the identification of STC-15 for evaluation in clinical studies. Details of the ongoing first-in-human clinical trial in patients with solid tumours can be found on clinicaltrials.gov under the identifier NCT05584111.

STORM has recently received a notice of allowance for a US patent protecting STC-15 and continues to prosecute patents covering STC-15 and wider METTL3 inhibitor chemistries in a broad range of territories.

Beth Thomas, Vice President Medicinal Chemistry of STORM Therapeutics, said, "The targeting of RNA modifying enzymes is an unexplored and exciting field of drug discovery. We are pleased to present the discovery story of a first-in-class and first-to-clinic METTL3 inhibitor, STC-15, and thank our collaborator Evotec SE, who have been instrumental in supporting us in this drug discovery process. While post-transcriptional RNA modifications have been known for over 30 years, their regulation and functional consequences have only recently begun to emerge. Within this presentation we will describe the need for novel approaches in this new target space and present our efforts to overcome these challenges."

Oliver Rausch, Chief Scientific Officer of STORM Therapeutics, commented, "STORM has shown in preclinical models that inhibition of METTL3 blocks tumour growth and induces tumour regression through activation of an anti-tumour immune response. Combination with immune-checkpoint-blockade further enhances these effects and results in induction of long-lasting anti-tumour immunity. These data provide support for testing of STC-15 as a therapeutic in a wide range of tumour types, and illustrate the potential for new therapeutics targeting RNA modifications." 

Jerry McMahon, Chief Executive Officer & President of STORM Therapeutics, added, "STORM is the first company devoted to pursuing RNA-modifying enzymes as drug targets, and tackling new classes of enzymes with novel and proprietary chemistries. We are encouraged by the progress of our ongoing Phase 1 dose escalation trial in solid tumours and look forward to future trials exploring uses in the treatment of specific tumour types."

Details of the conference and talk are as follow:

Talk Title: Discovery of STC-15, an orally bioavailable, highly selective METTL3 inhibitor for the treatment of AML and solid tumours: The first molecule specifically targeting an RNA methyltransferase enzyme to enter clinical development

Presenter: Beth Thomas¹

Date and Time: Wednesday, 16 August 2023, 08.35 – 09.05 PST

Location: Room 4, South Bldg. (Moscone Center)

¹STORM Therapeutics Ltd., Cambridge, UK

NOTES TO EDITORS

About STORM Therapeutics

STORM Therapeutics (STORM) is a clinical stage biotechnology company creating novel therapies that inhibit RNA modifying enzymes (RME) for use in oncology and other diseases. There are more than 150 RNA modifications reported and approximately 300 RNA modifying enzymes which represent novel therapeutic targets.

STORM has leveraged its first-mover advantage to establish a novel drug discovery and RNA analytics platform leading to the identification of novel targets and a proprietary pipeline of first-in-class small-molecule drug candidates for potential use in oncology, inflammation, viral infection and CNS diseases.

The pipeline is exemplified by STORM's METTL3 inhibitor, STC-15, which has received IND approval and commenced its Phase 1 clinical study in cancer patients in November 2022. STC-15 represents the first ever RNA modifying enzyme inhibitor to enter clinical evaluation in humans. Additional programs are planned for advancement into IND-track activities in 2023.

Fierce Biotech named STORM as one of its 2022 "Fierce 15", designating it as one of the most innovative, exciting biotechnology companies in the industry, pioneering novel drug targets.

STORM investors include M Ventures, Pfizer Ventures, Taiho Ventures LLC, Seroba Life Sciences, Cambridge Innovation Capital I Limited, IP Group plc, UTokyo Innovation Platform Co., Ltd. (UTokyo IPC) and the Fast Track Initiative (FTI).

For more information, please visit www.stormtherapeutics.com

About STC-15

STORM's lead clinical program STC-15 is a first-in-class inhibitor of RNA modification and is the first ever RNA methyltransferase inhibitor to enter clinical development. STC-15 is an oral small molecule that inhibits METTL3, an RNA methyltransferase implicated in oncology and other diseases. Certain RNA methyltransferases are important regulators of RNA sensing and innate immune activation and represent novel immune-regulatory targets.

STC-15 has also been shown preclinically to inhibit tumour growth through mechanisms involving anti-cancer immune responses, such as changes in interferon signalling and synergy with T cell checkpoint blockade.

STORM commenced the dosing of the first patient in a Phase 1 clinical study of STC-15 in patients living with solid tumours in November 2022 and anticipates presenting first results from its study in 2024. Details of the study can be found on clinicaltrials.gov under the identifier NCT05584111.