Karyopharm Therapeutics Announces Presentations by Seven Collaborators showing Major Progress in advancing Selective Inhibitors of Nuclear Export (SINE) for Hematologic Malignancies at American Society of Hematology (ASH) Meeting.

Karyopharm Therapeutics Inc., a leader in the new field of nuclear transport modulators, announces seven presentations by collaborators covering its Selective Inhibitors of Nuclear Export (SINE) modulators of the CRM1 protein at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting on December 10-13, 2011, in San Diego. The presentations are being made by different academic collaborators studying the use of Karyopharm’s novel SINE for the treatment of hematologic malignancies including chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL), multiple myeloma (MM), acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), and blast-crisis chronic myelogenous leukemia (bc-CML).

Two oral presentations will be made. Dr. Rosa Lapalombella, from the laboratory of Dr. John Byrd at the Ohio State University, will discuss the role of CRM1 inhibition in the treatment of CLL on Monday, December 12, at 7:45 AM. Dr. Byrd commented, “CRM1 represents an exciting targeted therapy toward CLL by antagonizing many of the oncogenes active in this disease. We are incredibly excited about transitioning this toward early clinical development in patients with CLL and related diseases based upon the data generated by Dr. Lapalombella and other members of our lab team.” Dr. Asfar Azmi from Dr. Ramzi Mohammad’s group at Wayne State University will speak on the development of novel CRM1 inhibitors for the treatment of NHL on Monday, December 12, at 3:30 PM. Dr. Mohammad commented, “This is the first time we have seen such high potency and specificity of an orally available small molecule CRM1 inhibitor that has shown activity in various models including those with a dysfunctional p53 pathway.”

Five poster presentations will be made.

On Saturday December 10 at 5:30-7:30 PM, one poster will be presented:

Dr. Malathi Kandarpa from Dr. Andrzej Jakabowiak’s lab previously at the University of Michigan and now at the University of Chicago will present “CRM1 Is Highly Expressed in MM Plasma Cells and Its Inhibition by KPT-SINE Induces Cytotoxicity by Increasing p53 in the Nucleus of MM Cells.”

On Sunday, December 11 from 6:00-8:00 PM, three posters will be presented:

Dr. Kong from Dr. Ken Anderson’s lab at Dana Farber Cancer Institute will present “Blockade of Nuclear Export Protein CRM1 (chromosomal region maintenance 1, XPO1) by a Novel, Potent and Selective CRM1 Inhibitor KPT-185 Induces Significant Antitumor Activity Against Human MM”
Dr. Julia Etchin from Dr. Tom Look’s lab at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute will present “KPT-SINE, a Potent, Small Molecule Inhibitor of CRM1-Dependent Nuclear-Cytoplasmic Shuttling, with Potent Activity Against T-ALL and AML”
Dr. Michael Wang from the MD Anderson Cancer Center will present “Novel CRM1 Inhibitors for Therapy In Mantle Cell Lymphoma,” a form of NHL.

On Monday, December 12 from 6:00-8:00PM, one poster will be presented:

Dr. Chris Walker from Dr. Danilo Perrotti’s lab at the Ohio State University will present “Nuclear Export (Karyopherin) Inhibitors: A Novel Therapeutic Strategy for Treating bc-CML and Philadelphia-Positive (Ph+) ALL Through Interference with hnRNP Nucleocytoplasmic Shuttling and Rescue of Protein Phosphatase 2A (PP2A) Tumor Suppressor Activity”

Karyopharm’s founder and Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Sharon Shacham commented, “We are very pleased that our collaborators have been working so diligently to help us understand the mechanisms of action and potential clinical utility of our novel SINE CRM1 antagonists. We look forward to continuing these collaborations and to bringing these agents into the clinic in 2012.”

About Karyopharm Therapeutics Inc.
Karyopharm is a preclinical-stage biopharmaceutical company leading the development of small molecule modulators of nuclear transport. The Company was founded by Drs. Sharon Shacham, Michael Kauffman, Giulio Draetta and Ronald DePinho in 2008. Karyopharm completed a $20M Series A financing in October, 2010, and a Series A2 financing of $10M in October, 2011. The Company has won several grants/awards including a Biotech Investment Award by the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation in 2010, which is helping to support some of the work presented at ASH 2011. Karyopharm’s first program is directed towards the Selective Inhibition of Nuclear Export – its SINE program – targeting CRM1, the major nuclear export protein. By inhibiting the nuclear export of tumor suppressor proteins, Karyopharm’s drug candidates force the activation of the cell’s key tumor suppressor and anti-inflammatory pathways including p53, p21, pRB, FoxO, and IκB, the body’s inhibitor of nuclear factor NF-κB. Karyopharm anticipates entering the clinic in 2012 with its first oral SINE compound for the treatment of various cancers. The Company is also evaluating the use of SINEs in autoimmune, viral and dermatologic disorders. Karyopharm Therapeutics is located in Natick, Massachusetts.

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