Step Pharma Announces First Patient Dosed with STP938, the World’s Most
Advanced CTPS1 Inhibitor, in a Phase 1/2 Trial for T cell and B cell lymphomas
• Potential first-in-class targeted treatment for relapsed/refractory T cell and B cell
lymphomas
St. Genis-Pouilly, France, 24 October 2022 – Step Pharma, the world leader in CTPS1
inhibition for the targeted treatment of cancer, announces today that the first patient has been
successfully dosed with STP938, in a Phase 1/2 trial in adult subjects with relapsed/refractory
B cell and T cell lymphomas.
The dose-escalation part of the open label, non-randomised Phase 1/2 trial comprises multiple
cohorts dosed with STP938, administered as an oral monotherapy, ascending in a stepwise
manner. The primary objective in Phase I is to assess the safety and tolerability of STP938.
Brian Schwartz, Chief Medical Officer of Step Pharma, commented: “We are developing
STP938, a highly selective, first-in-class treatment based on ground-breaking genetics. The
dosing of the first patient into our Phase 1 / 2 trial is an important step to identify an optimal
dose to take forward into further clinical development for relapsed/ refractory T cell and B
cell lymphomas.”
STP938 is a first-in-class oral cancer therapeutic that specifically inhibits nucleotide synthesis
and the enzyme cytidine triphosphate synthase 1 (CTPS1) in particular, originally identified as
an essential gene for lymphocyte proliferation. By targeting CTPS1, Step Pharma has
unlocked the ability to selectively target the de novo pyrimidine synthesis pathway in cancer
cells. This ground-breaking approach should enable the highly selective treatment of both
blood cancers and solid tumours.
Further details of the study can be found on clinicaltrials.gov under the identifier
NCT05463263
About Step Pharma
Step Pharma’s goal is to bring about a step change in how cancer is treated with targeted
therapies that kill cancer cells and leave healthy cells unharmed. The Company is the world
leader in CTPS1 inhibition, a new approach with the potential to yield highly selective, safe
and effective cancer treatments for both blood cancers and solid tumours.
The Company’s lead product STP938 has received both IND and CTA clearance to proceed
into first in human trials in the US and UK for the treatment of T cell and B cell lymphomas.
Clinical trials in lymphoma commenced in September 2022. STP938 has the potential to be
the backbone of a multitude of cancer therapies as well as a potent monotherapy for hard-to-treat blood cancers.
Step Pharma was founded in 2014 by Kurma Partners, the Imagine Institute and Sygnature
Discovery, based on the scientific discoveries of Prof. Alain Fischer and Dr Sylvain Latour.
Step Pharma is based in Saint-Genis-Pouilly, France, and is supported by a strong syndicate
of investors led by Kurma Partners and including Bpifrance (Fonds Biothérapies Innovantes
et Maladies Rares and InnoBio2 Fund), Pontifax, Hadean Ventures, Sunstone Life Science
Ventures, Inserm Transfert Initiative, Idinvest, Sygnature Discovery and the Imagine Institute.
More information on the company can be found at www.step-ph.com.
For more information please contact:
Step Pharma
Andrew Parker, Chief Executive Officer
[email protected]
Consilium Strategic Communications
Amber Fennell, Namrata Taak, Stella Lempidaki
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3709 5700
[email protected]