Sunesis Pharmaceuticals to Provide Program Update for Non-Covalent BTK Inhibitor SNS-062 at Analyst & Investor Event during ASH 2017

-Company announces vecabrutinib as generic name for SNS-062-

-Event on December 9 in Atlanta, GA with Slide Webcast-

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Dec. 05, 2017 -- Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:SNSS) today announced it will provide a program update for SNS-062, generic name vecabrutinib, the Company’s oral, reversible, non-covalent, BTK inhibitor which is currently being evaluated in an ongoing Phase 1b/2 clinical trial in adults with relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and other B-cell malignancies. This update will take place at a dinner event hosted by Sunesis during the 59th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition on Saturday, December 9, 2017, at 8:00 p.m. ET.  

Sunesis’s executive management team will present a program update from the ongoing Phase 1b/2 dose-escalation and cohort-expansion study evaluating the safety, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and antitumor activity of vecabrutinib, in adults with CLL, Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia, and mantle cell lymphoma.  The Phase 1b/2 trial is an open-label, sequential-group study that is enrolling patients across leading sites in the United States.

The update will also feature a discussion with key opinion leaders in CLL and investigators of the ongoing trial, Jennifer Brown, MD, PhD, Director, CLL Center Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Richard Furman, MD, Director of the CLL Research Center Weill Cornell Medicine.

The event on December 9 will begin at 8:00 p.m. ET and is intended for institutional investors and sell-side analysts only. Please contact [email protected] for more information. A live webcast of the event, with slides, will be available on the Investors section of the Sunesis website at www.sunesis.com beginning at approximately 8:30 p.m. ET, and will be subsequently archived for 90 days.

About Sunesis Pharmaceuticals

Sunesis is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of new oncology therapeutics for the future treatment of solid and hematologic cancers. Sunesis has built an experienced cancer drug development organization committed to improving the lives of people with cancer. The Company is focused on advancing its novel kinase-inhibitor pipeline, with an emphasis on establishing proof of concept that its oral non-covalent BTK-inhibitor, SNS-062 (vecabrutinib), is effective in ibrutinib-resistant chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Vecabrutinib is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1b/2, open-label, sequential-group, dose-escalation and cohort-expansion study in adults with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia, or mantle cell lymphoma who have progressed after prior therapies. Beyond the development of SNS-062, the Company has two other kinase inhibitor programs, including the Takeda-partnered pan-RAF inhibitor TAK-580, which is in solid tumor trials, and Sunesis’ proprietary preclinical PDK1 inhibitor SNS-510, which has completed non-GLP toxicology studies and has been designated a Development Candidate.  PDK1 is a master kinase that activates other kinases important to cell growth and survival including members of the AKT, PKC, RSK and SGK families.

For additional information on Sunesis, please visit www.sunesis.com.

SUNESIS and the logos are trademarks of Sunesis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements related to the continued development of SNS-062, including the timing of Phase 1b/2 trial of SNS-062 and the therapeutic potential of SNS-062, further development and potential of its kinase inhibitor pipeline, and planned development of SNS-510. Words such as “future,” “look forward,” “potential,” “will” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based upon Sunesis' current expectations. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Sunesis' actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements as a result of these risks and uncertainties, which include, without limitation, the risk related to the timing or conduct of Sunesis' clinical trials, including SNS-062 Phase 1b/2 trial, the risk that Sunesis' clinical or preclinical studies for SNS-062, SNS-510 or other product candidate may not demonstrate safety or efficacy or lead to regulatory approval, the risk that data to date and trends may not be predictive of future data or results, risks related to the timing or conduct of Sunesis' clinical trials, that Sunesis' development activities for SNS-062 or SNS-510 could be otherwise halted or significantly delayed for various reasons, that Sunesis may not be able to receive regulatory approval of SNS-062, or SNS-510 in the U.S. or Europe, and risks related to Sunesis' ability to raise the capital that it believes to be accessible and is required to fully finance the development and commercialization of SNS-062, SNS-510 and other product candidates. These and other risk factors are discussed under "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in Sunesis' Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2017 and Sunesis' other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  Sunesis expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein reflect any change in Sunesis' expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based.