Verastem Inc (VSTM) has experienced a tremendous increase in premarket – Here’s why?

2Verastem Inc (VSTM) has seen an increase of 25.72% in the premarket after the company announces Updated Investigator-Sponsored Phase 1/2 FRAME Study Data of VS-6766.

Updated Investigator-Sponsored Phase 1/2 FRAME Study Data of VS-6766

VSTM presented a brief oral presentation summarising new results from the current Phase 1/2 FRAME research on 19^th September 2021. The FRAME trial is looking at VS-6766, a Verastem RAF/MEK inhibitor, in conjunction with defactinib. A Verastem FAK inhibitor is the one in which patients with low-grade serous ovarian cancer (LGSOC). The results will be presented at the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2021.

The overall response rate was 46 percent among the evaluable LGSOC patients. The ORR was 64 percent in individuals with KRAS mutant LGSOC. The ORR was 44% among patients with KRAS wild-type LGSOC. Ten (42%) of the evaluable patients had previously received MEK inhibitor treatment.

All patients had a median PFS of 23.0 months. Thirteen of the twenty-four patients (54%) were still on the trial as of the April 2021 data cutoff deadline.

For comparison, response rates for other treatments examined in recurrent LGSOC ranged from 6% to 26%, with mPFS ranging from 7.2 to 13.0 months.

VSTM reported Second Quarter 2021 Financial Results

VSTM reported second-quarter 2021 results on 3^rd August 2021. Verastem Oncology had $114.1 million in cash, cash equivalents, and investments at the end of the second quarter of 2021.

Total revenue for the three months ending June 30, 2021, was $0.5 million, down from $4.3 million in the previous quarter.

In the 2021 Quarter, total operating expenditures were $16.4 million, compared to $25.6 million in the 2020 Quarter.

In the 2021 Quarter, selling, general, and administrative costs were $6.7 million, compared to $15.4 million in the 2020 Quarter. The drop of $8.7 million, or 56 percent, was largely due to the Company’s strategy change which resulted in decreased employee-related expenditures. In the 2021 Quarter, research and development costs were $9.7 million, compared to $9.3 million in the 2020 Quarter.