SAN DIEGO and NASHVILLE, Tenn., May 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Mirati Therapeutics, Inc.^® (NASDAQ: MRTX), a commercial stage biotechnology company, and Sarah Cannon Research Institute (SCRI), one of the world's leading oncology research organizations conducting community-based clinical trials, today announced a strategic partnership aimed at increasing diversity in clinical study recruitment practices.

According to the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), nearly 85 percent of patients living with cancer are treated in community centers¹. Ensuring equitable access to and participation in clinical studies requires improved awareness and targeted efforts to remove systemic barriers that may limit access to clinical studies for underrepresented patient groups.

As part of this partnership, Mirati and SCRI will implement practices and programs focused on removing obstacles to clinical study participation, including expanding physician and patient education and increasing access to community-based clinical trials. Initiatives will be focused on reducing complexities associated with activating clinical trials thereby enabling a greater number of community practices to participate in research studies.

"The opportunity to partner with SCRI enables Mirati to advance diversity in our clinical studies, which is a key pillar of our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts. We are excited about the opportunity to leverage the expertise and scale of SCRI as we collaborate on a range of initiatives aimed at improving health outcomes for a broad range of patients." said Alan Sandler, M.D., chief medical officer, Mirati Therapeutics, Inc. "By focusing on community-based sites, we can better understand the health needs of patients living with cancer and provide more tailored, patient-centered care. This partnership will allow us to gain a deeper understanding of the challenges patients face to enable us to better design our clinical studies to be representative of all patient communities."

SCRI's research network brings together more than 1,300 physicians who are actively accruing patients to clinical trials at more than 250 locations in 24 states across the U.S. Mirati will work directly with Development Innovations, SCRI's full-service, oncology-focused contract research organization (CRO), to execute the collaboration initiatives across the SCRI network. Through SCRI's Personalized Medicine Program, the partnership will utilize robust clinical trial matching data to better understand barriers to trial participation and ultimately design protocols to address challenges.

"SCRI is uniquely positioned to advance diversification strategies given our national reach, physician expertise and personalized medicine capabilities," said Howard A. "Skip" Burris, III, MD, president, SCRI. "Through our collaboration with Mirati, we can advance our goals to design and deliver clinical trials that can be accessed by more patient populations and accelerate drug development."

About Mirati Therapeutics, Inc.^®

Mirati Therapeutics, Inc. is a commercial stage biotechnology company whose mission is to discover, design and deliver breakthrough therapies to transform the lives of patients with cancer and their loved ones. The company is relentlessly focused on bringing forward therapies that address areas of high unmet need, including lung cancer, and advancing a pipeline of novel therapeutics targeting the genetic and immunological drivers of cancer. Unified for patients, Mirati's vision is to unlock the science behind the promise of a life beyond cancer.

For more information about Mirati, visit us at Mirati.com or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

About Sarah Cannon Research Institute

Sarah Cannon Research Institute (SCRI) is one of the world's leading oncology research organizations conducting community-based clinical trials. In 2022, SCRI formed a joint venture with US Oncology Research to enhance clinical trial access and availability across the country. Focused on advancing therapies for patients over the last three decades, SCRI is a leader in drug development. It has conducted more than 650 first-in-human clinical trials since its inception and contributed to pivotal research that has led to the majority of new cancer therapies approved by the FDA today. SCRI's research network brings together more than 1,300 physicians who are actively accruing patients to clinical trials at more than 250 locations in 24 states across the U.S. Learn more about our research offerings.

Mirati Therapeutics, Inc. Forward Looking Statements

This press release includes forward-looking statements regarding Mirati's business, financial guidance and the therapeutic and commercial potential of KRAZATI^® (adagrasib), sitravatinib (TAM receptor inhibitor), MRTX1719 (MTA-cooperative PRMT5 inhibitor), MRTX0902 (SOS1 inhibitor), and MRTX1133 (selective KRAS^G12D inhibitor), Mirati's technologies and Mirati' other products in development. Any statement describing Mirati's goals, expectations, intentions or beliefs, financial or other projections, is a forward-looking statement and should be considered an at-risk statement. Such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including those inherent in the process of discovering, developing and commercializing medicines that are safe and effective for use as human therapeutics, and in the endeavor of building a business around such medicines.

Mirati's forward-looking statements also involve assumptions that, if they never materialize or prove correct, could cause its results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Although Mirati's forward-looking statements reflect the good faith judgment of its management, these statements are based only on facts and factors currently known by Mirati. As a result, you are cautioned not to rely on these forward-looking statements. These and other risks concerning Mirati's programs are described in additional detail in Mirati' annual report on Form 10-K, and most recent Form 10-Q, which are on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available at the SEC's Internet site (www.sec.gov). These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release, and Mirati assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

 ¹ AACR Cancer Disparities Progress Report 2022. AACR_CDPR_2022.pdf. (Accessed April 2023).