Full Press Release Details
Black Diamond Therapeutics Announces Pipeline
Prioritization and Workforce Realignment
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and NEW YORK, April 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Black
Diamond Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: BDTX), a precision oncology medicine company pioneering the discovery and development of MasterKey
therapies, today announced that it is realigning its resources to focus on key near-term value drivers and to extend its cash runway into
the third quarter of 2024, supporting the execution of important clinical and preclinical milestones.
"Black Diamond's mission of expanding
the reach of precision cancer medicines through the development of our novel MasterKey therapies is at the core of our daily work, and
we believe that our MAP discovery engine offers a novel approach to addressing major unmet needs within the oncology treatment landscape,"
said David Epstein, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Black Diamond Therapeutics. "In order to increase our operational
efficiency and execute on our mission, we have made the difficult decision to reduce our workforce by approximately 30%. We are incredibly
grateful to every member of the Black Diamond team who has helped to advance MasterKey therapies for the many patients in need of new
therapeutic options as well as to the patients and investigators involved in the clinical trial of BDTX-189. The actions announced today
enable us to focus and strengthen our organizational priorities, reduce our operating expenses, and continue to invest in value generating
clinical development activities to bring us to the next inflection points for BDTX-1535 and BDTX-4933."
Black Diamond has discontinued the development
of BDTX-189 and realigned its workforce to focus on progressing its pipeline through important upcoming milestones for BDTX-1535, BDTX-4933
and discovery efforts. Since its announcement regarding the status of BDTX-189 in January 2022, the Company has been reviewing the development
program for BDTX-189, an orally available, irreversible small molecule inhibitor targeting oncogenic driver mutations of the epidermal
growth factor receptor (EGFR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) kinases, while continuing to enroll patients in the
safety expansion cohort of the Phase 1 study. As part of its strategic review, Black Diamond has decided to discontinue development of
the program due to the rapid evolution of the treatment landscape in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring either EGFR or HER2
Exon 20 insertion mutations.
Black Diamond is aligning its operational and
scientific efforts on two priority programs, in addition to its discovery efforts.
Black Diamond Therapeutics is a precision oncology medicine company
pioneering the development of novel MasterKey therapies. Black Diamond is addressing the significant unmet need for novel precision oncology
therapies for patients with genetically defined cancers who have limited treatment options. Black Diamond is built upon a deep understanding
of cancer genetics, onco-protein function, and drug discovery. The Company's proprietary Mutation-Allostery-Pharmacology, or MAP
drug discovery engine, is designed to allow Black Diamond to analyze population-level genetic sequencing tumor data to predict and validate
oncogenic mutations that promote cancer across tumor types as MasterKey mutations. Black Diamond discovers and develops selective MasterKey
therapies against these families of oncogenic mutations. Black Diamond was founded by David M. Epstein, Ph.D., and Elizabeth Buck, Ph.D.
For more information, please visit www.blackdiamondtherapeutics.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements contained in this press release regarding
matters that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. Because such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed
or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the planned realignment
of resources and pipeline prioritization, the ongoing development of BDTX-1535 and BDTX-4933, including timing of upcoming milestones,
the nomination of a development candidate for the Company's FGFR program and the Company's cash runway. Any forward-looking
statements in this statement are based on management's current expectations of future events and are subject to a number of risks
and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those set forth in or implied by such forward-looking
statements. Risks that contribute to the uncertain nature of the forward-looking statements include those risks and uncertainties set
forth in the Company's 2021 annual report on Form 10-K filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and its other
filings filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release
speak only as of the date on which they were made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update such statements to reflect events that
occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made.