Anti-cancer activity of BI-505 demonstrated in animal model
Results presented at American Society of Hematology
Lund, Sweden–12 December 2011 – BioInvent International AB (OMXS: BINV) announced today that new preclinical data has been presented on its BI-505 programme that demonstrates anti-cancer activity in multiple myeloma and beneficial effect on bone density. The results were presented at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, San Diego, USA on Sunday 11 December 2011.
The study was conducted by researchers at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, USA under the direction of Professor Guido Tricot. Compared to untreated controls, BI-505 treated animals showed a significant reduction (p-value <0.01) of tumour burden induced by primary human multiple myeloma cells as measured by human IgG levels. The active control, bortezomid (Velcade®*, Takeda/ Millennium) also showed significant effect (p-value <0.01) over the placebo control.
Svein Mathisen, President and CEO of BioInvent, said: “Current pharmaceutical regimes in multiple myeloma are associated with severe negative side effects. It is our belief that an antibody-based regime would make a meaningful difference in this respect. These preclinical data on the anti-cancer activity of BI-505, well in line with one of the leading cytotoxics, take us one step in that direction.”
A second outcome investigated in the study was bone resorption. This is very important to multiple myeloma patients because, as the disease progresses, lysis, or breakdown, of bone causes increasing pain. This lysis is caused by the shift in balance in favour of osteoclasts, the bone cells in charge of skeletal breakdown, over osteoblasts, bone cells promoting build-up. The study demonstrated that both BI-505 and Velcade had a favourable effect on bone mineral density.
In a previous animal model BioInvent has also shown BI-505 to prolong survival compared to Velcade.
The poster on abstract #2914, The effect of ICAM-1 Antibody Therapy in the SCID-Hu Mouse Model Using Primary Myeloma Cells, is accessible on the BioInvent website (www.bioinvent.com) and can be found at www.hematology.com.
*Velcade® is approved for first-line treatment of multiple myeloma in combination with older immunosuppressive drugs, such as prednisone, and as stand-alone treatment in patients with relapsed disease.
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To the editors:
About BI-505
BI-505 is a fully human, monoclonal antibody developed from BioInvent’s proprietary screening platform FIRST™, a function first approach to antibody drug discovery, which in its turn builds on BioInvent’s extensive n-CoDeR® library. BI-505 binds to the cell-surface protein ICAM-1 (Inter-Cellular Adhesion Molecule-1), which has been shown to be overexpressed in multiple myeloma cell lines and primary patient myeloma cells. BioInvent has shown in animal models for multiple myeloma that BI-505 kills tumor cells through induction of both programmed cell death and Fc gamma receptor dependent anti-tumour immunity. BI-505 is currently being investigated in a phase I clinical trial involving approximately 35 patients at clinical centres both in the US and EU.
About multiple myeloma
Multiple myeloma is a type of cancer formed by malignant plasma cells. Normal plasma cells, also called B cells, are mostly found in the bone marrow and are important parts of the innate immune system. It is expected that 20,520 new cases of multiple myeloma will be diagnosed in the US in 2011, making it the second most common haematological cancer. The 5-year relative survival rate is around 40 per cent (www.cancer.org).
About BioInvent
BioInvent International AB, listed on the NASDAQ OMX Stockholm (BINV), is a research-based pharmaceutical company that focuses on developing antibody drugs. The Company currently has four clinical development projects within the areas of thrombosis, cancer and atherosclerosis. The Company has signed various strategic alliances to strengthen the product pipeline and increase the likelihood of success. These partners include Genentech, Human Genome Sciences, Roche and ThromboGenics.
The company’s competitive position is underpinned by its patented antibody development platform. The scope and strength of this platform is also utilised by partners, such as Bayer HealthCare, Daiichi Sankyo, Mitsubishi Tanabe, UCB and XOMA. More information is available at www.bioinvent.com.
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