Curtana Pharmaceuticals Is Proud to Sponsor the 2021 Glioblastoma Awareness Day

AUSTIN, Texas - July 21, 2021 - PRLog -- Curtana Pharmaceuticals, a privately-held, preclinical stage biopharmaceutical company, is proud to partner with the National Brain Tumor Society (NBTS) to shine a light on glioblastoma (GBM), the most common, treatment-resistant, and deadliest type of brain cancer. This year's GBM Awareness Day will take place virtually on July 21^st, gathering leading researchers, members of congress, patients, caregivers, and friends for a day of educational programming, community discussions, and more. This annual event acts to support survivors and their loved ones, to remember those who are no longer with us, and to honor luminaries working toward a cure and better quality of life for those who are living with this devastating disease.

Approximately 13,000 Americans will be diagnosed with GBM this year. While the average age at diagnosis is 64, the disease is beginning to be seen more commonly in younger adults under the age of 40. It has a five-year survival rate of 7.2%, and a median survival of only about 16 months. Despite decades of research looking for better ways to treat this disease, there are only four FDA approved drugs and one device to treat GBM.

"GBM is a devastating disease that all Americans should care about," said Gregory Stein, M.D., M.B.A. and Chief Executive Officer, Curtana Pharmaceuticals. "At Curtana, we are focused on developing a novel, first-in-class drug, CT-179, for the treatment of malignant gliomas, including GBM. We plan to initiate clinical trials in the first half of 2022 and are excited to bring this once daily oral therapy, with the potential to prolong survival and improve quality of life, to patients with GBM and other typically fatal brain cancers. We are hopeful CT-179 becomes a cornerstone in the treatment of GBM."

Today, we shine a light on the realities of a GBM diagnosis and show our support for patients and families who experience them every day.

About CT-179

Curtana is developing CT-179, a highly potent small molecule inhibitor of the transcription factor OLIG2, which is found in all gliomas and has been shown to be an important factor in tumor initiation, driving tumor growth, invasion of cancer cells into normal brain tissue, and tumor recurrence. CT-179 is orally bioavailable, can be dosed once daily, crosses the blood-brain barrier, and achieves very high concentrations in the brain. CT-179 has been shown to be well tolerated at therapeutic doses in animals, and significantly prolongs survival in multiple GBM animal models, particularly when combined with standard of care therapies, and in pediatric medulloblastoma (MB) models when combined with radiotherapy.

FDA Orphan Drug designation for the treatment of malignant gliomas, including GBM, was granted to CT-179 in August 2017. FDA Rare Pediatric Disease Designation for the treatment of medulloblastoma was granted to CT-179 in September 2020. An investigational new drug (IND) application filing is planned for the first half of 2022.

About Curtana Pharmaceuticals

Curtana Pharmaceuticals, founded in 2013, is a privately held, preclinical-stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Current investors include Thynk Capital, angelMD, Biosense Global, DEFTA Partners, and other anonymous investors. In 2014, the company was awarded a $7.6 million grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT). Curtana focuses on the development of novel first-in-class, small molecule therapeutics targeting cancer stem cells in the central nervous system for the treatment of glioblastoma, medulloblastoma, and other brain cancers. For more information, visit www.curtanapharma.com.