- Guest Speakers to Give Presentations on Mesothelioma and Rationale for Targeting Cancer Stem Cells through FAK Inhibition -

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 19, 2015-- Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM), focused on discovering and developing drugs to treat cancer by the targeted killing of cancer stem cells, today announced that the company will host an analyst and investor event on Sunday, May 31^st at the 2015 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting being held May 29 – June 2, 2015, at McCormick Place in Chicago, IL.

The company will discuss recent advances with its clinical programs targeting cancer stem cells, including an overview of the registration-directed COMMAND study evaluating its lead cancer stem cell inhibitor, VS-6063, for the treatment of mesothelioma.

Guest speakers will include Professor Dean Fennell, Ph.D., FRCP, Chair of Thoracic Oncology at the University of Leicester and President of the International Mesothelioma Interest Group, and Max Wicha, M.D., Director Emeritus, University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center & Professor of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan.

Details for the event are below:

The event will be open to analysts and institutional investors. Breakfast will be served.

A live, listen-only webcast of the event can be accessed here five minutes prior to the start of the event. A replay of the webcast will be archived on the Verastem website following the event.

Biographies of the guest speakers:

Professor Dean Fennell, Ph.D., FRCP

Chair of Thoracic Oncology, University of Leicester, UK

Professor Fennell is a consultant physician and research scientist specializing in the treatment of lung cancer, and particularly mesothelioma for which he is internationally recognized. He is currently leading UK and international clinical trials of novel targeted therapies, and leads a translational research laboratory focused on identifying genetic predictors of novel drug effectiveness, a recognized priority area for improving outcomes in cancer research. Dr. Fennell has published over 50 peer reviewed research articles, reviews and book chapters on cancer pharmacology & clinical trials, is a regular reviewer for several international scientific journals and funding agencies and has been invited chair at national and international conferences. Professor Fennell is the president of the International Mesothelioma Interest Group, member of the COMMAND International Steering Committee and coordinating investigator for COMMAND in the UK.

Professor Max Wicha, M.D.

Director Emeritus, University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center & Professor of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan

Dr. Max S. Wicha founded the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center in 1987 and served as director for 27 years. Dr. Wicha is nationally known for his research in the field of breast oncology, particularly the study of how breast cancer cells grow and metastasize, or spread. His lab was part of the team that first discovered stem cells in breast cancer, the first described in any human solid tumor. Since then, Dr. Wicha has become one of the leading experts on cancer stem cells. In addition to his continued work on breast cancer stem cells, he has also led efforts within the Cancer Center to expand these findings into other tumor types. U-M researchers were first to discover stem cells in pancreatic, head and neck, and ovarian tumors and are focusing on cancer stem cells in virtually every cancer type, including colon, lung and thyroid tumors. Dr. Wicha is an active clinician, specializing in the treatment of breast cancer patients. He is past chairman of both the Association of American Cancer Institutes and the National Cancer Institute's Cancer Center Support Review Committee. Dr. Wicha joined the University of Michigan Medical School in 1980. From 1984 to 1993, he served as chief in the Division of Hematology/Oncology in the Department of Internal Medicine. Dr. Wicha received his medical degree from Stanford University and trained in internal medicine at the University of Chicago before moving to the National Cancer Institute, where he trained in clinical oncology and cancer biology.

About Verastem, Inc.

Verastem, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSTM) is discovering and developing drugs to treat cancer by the targeted killing of cancer stem cells. Cancer stem cells are an underlying cause of tumor recurrence and metastasis. Verastem is developing small molecule inhibitors of signaling pathways that are critical to cancer stem cell survival and proliferation: FAK and PI3K/mTOR. For more information, please visit www.verastem.com.

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Source: Verastem, Inc.

Verastem, Inc.
Brian Sullivan, 781-292-4214
bsullivan@verastem.com