Aprea to Present Preclinical Data and an Update From the Clinical PhaseI/IIa Cancer Study on APR-246 at the American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting in New Orleans, USA.

2009-12-03

STOCKHOLM, - December 3, 2009 - Aprea AB today announced that promising data from its preclinical studies and an update of its on-going Phase I/IIa study of APR-246 in patients with refractory hematological malignancies or prostate cancer, will be presented in a poster session at the upcoming 51st ASH (American Society of Hematology) Annual Meeting and Exposition in New Orleans, LA, USA, December 5-8, 2009.

APR-246 belongs to a new class of anticancer compounds that has been shown to reactivate the non-functional tumor suppressor protein p53 and induce programmed cell death in many human cancer cells. Aberrations in p53 are common in various forms of cancer and are associated with increased resistance to standard chemotherapy resulting in a poor prognosis. For these patients no treatment other than palliative care exists. In preclinical studies APR-246 has demonstrated unique pharmacological properties as compared to conventional chemotherapy, by being effective also in cancer cells with p53 mutations and by preferentially targeting tumor cells over normal cells. In preclinical safety/toxicology studies APR-246 has shown a highly promising safety profile being non toxic at predicted therapeutic plasma concentrations. Moreover, in combination studies with conventional chemotherapy using AML cell lines, pronounced synergistic effects have been observed. Thus, APR-246 appears to be a promising novel anticancer compound for treatment of cancer patients associated with poor prognosis. Currently, APR-246 is in dose-escalation PhaseI/IIa clinical trials for a number of hematological malignancies and prostate cancer.

Poster no.: 3773
Poster Title: Further Preclinical Studies with APR-246, a Novel Anticancer

Compound Currently in Clinical Trials for Hematological Malignancies and Prostate CancerPresenter: Nina Mohell, PhD
Poster Board no.: ***III-709***
Session Title: Molecular Pharmacology, Drug Resistance Poster III
Session Date and Time: Monday, December 7, 2009, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Location: Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Hall E