Sierra Oncology to host Key Opinion Leader Meeting "Beyond PARP: The Clinical Potential of Next Generation DNA Damage Response (DDR) Therapeutics" on October 12th in NY

- Dr. Leonard Post, Dr. Eric J. Brown, and Dr. Geoffrey I. Shapiro to discuss DDR scientific and clinical development -

VANCOUVER, Oct. 4, 2017 /CNW/ - Sierra Oncology, Inc. (SRRA), a clinical stage drug development company focused on advancing next generation DNA Damage Response (DDR) therapeutics for the treatment of patients with cancer, today announced that it will host a Key Opinion Leader (KOL) luncheon on the topic of "Beyond PARP: The Clinical Potential of Next Generation DNA Damage Response Therapeutics" on Thursday, October 12^th from 12:00-1:30pm at the Lotte New York Palace, Reid Salon, 455 Madison Ave, New York City.

The meeting will feature presentations by three KOLs in DDR scientific and clinical development:

• Leonard Post, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer of Vivace Therapeutics; former CSO of BioMarin Pharmaceutical, will discuss lessons learned from PARP inhibitor development, with a focus on optimizing drug properties;
• Eric J. Brown, PhD, Associate Professor of Cancer Biology at the Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania, will discuss the ATR/Chk1 pathway and its biology, highlighting emerging views on the importance of replication stress;
• Geoffrey I. Shapiro, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School; Clinical Director at the Center for DNA Damage and Repair, and Director of the Early Drug Development Center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, will discuss translating emerging DDR science into the cancer clinic, emphasizing the importance of patient selection strategies.

In addition to the KOL presentations, Dr. Nick Glover, President and CEO of Sierra Oncology, will provide a brief overview on the company's ongoing clinical development program for SRA737, a potent, highly selective, orally bioavailable small molecule inhibitor of the emerging DDR target, Chk1.

Following the presentation, the KOLs, along with members of Sierra's Senior Management team, will be available to answer questions. If you would like to ask a question during the live Q&A, please submit your request via email at [email protected]

For those who are unable to attend in person, a live webcast and replay will be accessible here:

Webcast: www.sierraoncology.com
Direct link: http://lifesci.rampard.com/20171012/

About the Key Opinion Leaders
Leonard Post, PhD, is Chief Scientific Officer of Vivace Therapeutics and also serves as an advisor to numerous biotechnology companies and to venture investors. Until July 2016, he was Chief Scientific Officer of BioMarin Pharmaceutical, and before that was CSO and cofounder of LEAD Therapeutics which was acquired by BioMarin in 2010. His work in DNA repair involved the discovery of the PARP inhibitor talazoparib at LEAD and its development into Phase 3 at BioMarin. Talazoparib is currently being tested in EMBRACA, a Phase III clinical study in gBRCA+ locally advanced and/or metastatic breast cancer. From 2000-2006, he was Senior Vice President of Research and Development at Onyx Pharmaceuticals, during the clinical development of Nexavar from IND through NDA approval. Prior to Onyx, he was at Parke-Davis Pharmaceutical where he was VP of Discovery Research; and before that at The Upjohn Company in several positions. Dr. Post is currently a member of the board of directors of Viralytics Ltd., an Australian Stock Exchange-listed company; and of private companies Orphagen Pharmaceuticals, Fedora Pharmaceuticals and Oxyrane Ltd.

Eric J. Brown, PhD is an Associate Professor of Cancer Biology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Brown's laboratory examines how signaling maintains genome stability during DNA synthesis and how this function is essential to cancer cells. His laboratory was the first to report that oncogenic stress is sufficient to cause selective sensitivity to ATR inhibition. Dr. Brown's laboratory is currently identifying predictive biomarkers of therapeutic benefit and the mechanisms of action of these drugs through a combination of genome-wide breakpoint mapping and replication fork proteomics. In collaboration with clinical researchers, these biomarkers of response will be exploited in current and future clinical trials. Collectively, the Brown laboratory seeks both to define the mechanisms of action of ATR/Chk1 inhibitors and to identify their optimal uses in cancer therapies. Dr. Brown received his PhD (Immunology) from Harvard University in 1996. He performed his doctoral research with Dr. Stuart Schreiber at Harvard University, where he purified and cloned the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR). In his postdoctoral research in Dr. David Baltimore's laboratory at the California Institute of Technology, Dr. Brown investigated the impact of ATR suppression on genome stability and checkpoint signaling in response to replication stress.

Geoffrey I. Shapiro, MD, PhD is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Early Drug Development Center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Dr. Shapiro runs one of the largest Phase 1 clinical trials programs in the United States and dedicates his time to developing leading cancer treatments. He is also a member of Dana-Farber's Thoracic Oncology Program and a member of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center SPORE (Specialized Program of Research Excellence) in Lung Cancer. Dr. Shapiro conducts both basic and translational research on cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors, with a focus on defining the role of these inhibitors in the cellular response to DNA damage. Dr. Shapiro received his PhD in 1987 and his MD in 1988 from Cornell University, followed by postgraduate training in internal medicine at Beth Israel Hospital, Boston. He completed a fellowship in medical oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, during which he investigated the role of cell-cycle-related proteins in lung cancer. He joined the Dana-Farber faculty in 1994.

About Sierra Oncology
Sierra Oncology is a clinical stage drug development company advancing next generation DNA Damage Response (DDR) therapeutics for the treatment of patients with cancer. Our lead drug candidate, SRA737, is a potent, highly selective, orally bioavailable small molecule inhibitor of Checkpoint kinase 1 (Chk1), a key regulator of important cell cycle checkpoints and central mediator of the DDR network. SRA737 is currently being investigated in two Phase 1 clinical trials in patients with advanced cancer: a monotherapy study evaluating SRA737 in cancer patients with tumors identified to have genetic aberrations hypothesized to confer sensitivity to Chk1 inhibition via synthetic lethality, and a study evaluating the combination of SRA737 potentiated by low-dose gemcitabine. Sierra is also preparing for potential clinical studies of SRA737 in combination with other agents where there is a strong biological rationale for synergy with Chk1 inhibition, such as immune oncology therapeutics, and other DDR inhibitors such as PARP inhibitors.

Sierra Oncology is also advancing SRA141, a potent, selective, orally bioavailable small molecule inhibitor of Cell division cycle 7 kinase (Cdc7) undergoing preclinical development. Cdc7 is a key regulator of DNA replication and is involved in the DDR network, making it a compelling emerging target for the potential treatment of a broad range of tumor types. For more information, please visit www.sierraoncology.com.

Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, statements regarding Sierra Oncology's market and industry position, expectations from current data, anticipated clinical development and potential benefits of Sierra Oncology's product candidates. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements. These statements are based on management's current expectations and beliefs and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including, among others, the risk that Sierra Oncology may be unable to successfully develop and commercialize product candidates, SRA737 and SRA141 are at early stages of development and may not demonstrate safety and efficacy or otherwise produce positive results, Sierra Oncology may experience delays in the preclinical and anticipated clinical development of SRA737 or SRA141, Sierra Oncology may be unable to acquire additional assets to build a pipeline of additional product candidates, Sierra Oncology's third-party manufacturers may cause its supply of materials to become limited or interrupted or fail to be of satisfactory quantity or quality, Sierra Oncology's cash resources may be insufficient to fund its current operating plans and it may be unable to raise additional capital when needed, Sierra Oncology may be unable to obtain and enforce intellectual property protection for its technologies and product candidates and the other factors described under the heading "Risk Factors" set forth in Sierra Oncology's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. Sierra Oncology undertakes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements contained herein or to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date hereof, other than as may be required by applicable law.

SOURCE Sierra Oncology