Curis Hedgehog and Beyond --plus multi-targeting cancer inhibitors

CUDC-305 demonstrated high potency in vitro and in vivo across a wide range of cancers. Most notably, Curis scientists observed complete tumor regression following oral administration of CUDC-305 in a mouse xenograft model of acute myelogenous leukemia(AML). Tumor regression has also been observed after treatment of CUDC-305 in mouse xenograft models of breast, non-small cell lung, gastric cancer and glioblastoma brain cancers. In this preclinical testing, the compound also demonstrated an ability to effectively cross the blood brain barrier, and demonstrated an ability to extend survival in an intracranial glioblastoma model. GLP toxicity studies suggest that CUDC-305 appears to be well tolerated at potentially efficacious doses.

About the Debiopharm License Agreement

On August 6, 2009, we entered into a license agreement with Debiopharm S.A., a Swiss corporation, pursuant to which we granted to Debiopharm a worldwide, exclusive royalty-bearing license, with the right to grant sublicenses, to develop, manufacture, market and sell any product containing our Hsp90 inhibitor technology, including our lead Hsp90 compound under development, CUDC-305 (since renamed Debio 0932). Debiopharm will assume all future development responsibility and incur all future costs related to the development, registration and commercialization of products under the agreement. We are eligible to receive up to an aggregate of $90 million in payments, as well as royalties on sales by Debiopharm or its sublicensees.

About Hsp90

Hsp90 is a member of a class of proteins called molecular chaperones that play a fundamental role in the folding, stabilization and degradation of their client proteins under normal or stressful conditions. Hsp90, in particular, has become an attractive therapeutic target for the treatment of cancer because a majority of its client proteins are involved in cellular signaling transduction and have been identified as potential contributors to various aspects of cancer cell growth and survival. Inhibitors of Hsp90 activity may be of therapeutic value if they can prevent Hsp90 chaperones from protecting proteins involved in cancer and allow them to be degraded.

Debiopharm plans to open a Phase I clinical trial evaluating the safety of Debio 0932 during the first quarter of 2010. The study will be an open label, multi-center dose escalation trial evaluating the safety and maximum tolerated dose of multiple doses of Debio 0932 in patients suffering from advanced solid tumors or lymphoma.