Aprea Therapeutics to Host Virtual KOL Event on APR-1051, a Highly Selective and Potentially Best-in-Class Oral WEE1 Inhibitor, on Monday, June 24, 2024

By: Aprea Therapeutics via GlobeNewswire

June 21, 2024 at 08:00 AM EDT

DOYLESTOWN, Pa., June 21, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aprea Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: APRE) (“Aprea”, or the “Company”), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on precision oncology through synthetic lethality, today announced that it will host a virtual KOL event to discuss APR-1051, a highly selective and potentially best-in-class oral WEE1 inhibitor, on Monday, June 24, 2024 at 9:00 AM ET. To register, click here.

The webinar will feature Joseph Vacca, PhD, Medicinal Chemistry Expert and Consultant to Aprea, who will discuss the medicinal chemistry history, highly selective drug design, and preclinical findings of APR-1051. It will also feature Eric J. Brown, PhD (University of Pennsylvania) who will discuss preclinical findings across the WEE1 inhibitor class. WEE1 is an enzyme involved in the DNA damage response pathway and is a validated oncology target.

APR-1051 is a potent and selective small molecule that has been designed to limit off-target toxicity. Aprea recently initiated the Phase 1 ACESOT-1051 trial evaluating APR-1051 as monotherapy treatment in patients with significant unmet medical need, including patients with Cyclin E over expression.

A live question and answer session will follow the formal presentations.

Joseph Vacca, PhD is a medicinal chemist who spent 30 years at Merck Research Laboratories (1981 to 2011). He and his teams made major contributions to several approved drugs including the HIV protease inhibitor CRIXIVAN™ (indinavir sulfate), the HIV integrase inhibitor Isentress™ (raltegravir); the HCV protease Inhibitor (Vanihep™, vaniprevir), the combination product Zepatier™ which is a combination of the second generation HCV protease Inhibitor grazoprevir and the NS5A protein Inhibitor elbasvir and the recently approved second generation HIV NNRTI inhibitor doravirine. Upon his retirement from Merck in 2011, Dr. Vacca took a role as Senior Vice President of Early Success Sharing Partnerships at WuXi AppTec Limited. He left WuXi in September 2015 to be a consultant and now acts as an interim head of chemistry for several small startup companies. Dr. Vacca has over 100 publications and patents and is the holder of many awards including a Merck Directors Award (1998); PhRMA Discoverers Award (1999); Intellectual Property Owners “National Inventor of the year Award” (1997); European Inventor of the Year (non-EU nation) (2007); ACS “Award for Creative Invention” (1999); and was a named a Merck Research Laboratories Presidential Fellow in 2008. He was named to the American Chemical Society Medicinal Chemistry Hall of Fame (Aug. 2012) and was also named a “Hero of Chemistry” (along with the research team) for his role in the discovery and development of the HIV integrase inhibitorIsentress™. Dr. Vacca earned a BS in chemistry in 1977 from St. John Fisher College, Rochester, New York, and obtained a PhD degree in Organic Chemistry under Professor Peter T. Lansbury Sr. at the State University of New York at Buffalo (New York).

Eric J. Brown, PhD is Associate Professor of Cancer Biology at the University of Pennsylvania and a Scientific Consultant to Aprea Therapeutics. Dr. Brown’s laboratory at Penn focuses on the role of the replication stress response on genome stability. His research seeks to identify the cancer-associated genetic changes that increase the efficacy of therapeutics that abrogate replication stress responses, such as ATR and WEE1 inhibitors. The genetic changes that impact sensitivity to these therapies are identified through various orthogonal approaches, including proteomics, genome-wide breakpoint mapping, and computational methods. Overall, the goal of this research is both to better understand the mechanism by which these cancer therapeutics operate and to improve responses to these treatments in patients.

About Aprea

Aprea Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, focused on precision oncology through synthetic lethality. The Company’s lead program is ATRN-119, a clinical-stage small molecule ATR inhibitor in development for solid tumor indications. APR-1051, an oral, small molecule WEE1 inhibitor, recently entered the clinic. For more information, please visit the company website at www.aprea.com.

The Company may use, and intends to use, its investor relations website at https://ir.aprea.com/ as a means of disclosing material nonpublic information and for complying with its disclosure obligations under Regulation FD.

Forward-Looking Statement
Certain information contained in this press release includes “forward-looking statements”, within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended related to our study analyses, clinical trials, regulatory submissions, and projected cash position. We may, in some cases use terms such as “future,” “predicts,” “believes,” “potential,” “continue,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “expects,” “plans,” “intends,” “targeting,” “confidence,” “may,” “could,” “might,” “likely,” “will,” “should” or other words that convey uncertainty of the future events or outcomes to identify these forward-looking statements. Our forward-looking statements are based on current beliefs and expectations of our management team and on information currently available to management that involve risks, potential changes in circumstances, assumptions, and uncertainties. All statements contained in this press release other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, including statements regarding our ability to develop, commercialize, and achieve market acceptance of our current and planned products and services, our research and development efforts, including timing considerations and other matters regarding our business strategies, use of capital, results of operations and financial position, and plans and objectives for future operations. Any or all of the forward-looking statements may turn out to be wrong or be affected by inaccurate assumptions we might make or by known or unknown risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties including, without limitation, risks related to the success, timing, and cost of our ongoing clinical trials and anticipated clinical trials for our current product candidates, including statements regarding the timing of initiation, pace of enrollment and completion of the trials (including our ability to fully fund our disclosed clinical trials, which assumes no material changes to our currently projected expenses), futility analyses, presentations at conferences and data reported in an abstract, and receipt of interim or preliminary results (including, without limitation, any preclinical results or data), which are not necessarily indicative of the final results of our ongoing clinical trials, our understanding of product candidates mechanisms of action and interpretation of preclinical and early clinical results from its clinical development programs, and the other risks, uncertainties, and other factors described under “Risk Factors,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and elsewhere in the documents we file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. For all these reasons, actual results and developments could be materially different from those expressed in or implied by our forward-looking statements. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are made only as of the date of this press release. We undertake no obligation to update such forward-looking statements for any reason, except as required by law.

Investor Contact:

Mike Moyer
LifeSci Advisors
mmoyer@lifesciadvisors.com