Oncology Venture to evaluate Eisai oncology drug for in-license to 2X Oncology Inc.

Hoersholm, Denmark, March 24th, 2017 – Oncology Venture Sweden AB (OV:ST) and Eisai Inc. (Woodcliff Lake, NJ U.S.A.) have entered an agreement under which Oncology Venture will develop a Companion Diagnostic (utilizing its proprietary Drug Response Predictor (DRP™) technology) for an undisclosed Eisai oncology therapeutic agent in order to evaluate its interest in in-licensing the drug for further clinical development in the OV spin-out, 2X Oncology Inc. (Boston, MA U.S.A.).  The drug is Phase 2 stage, the targeted small molecule inhibitor having promising application in a number of human cancers. 

If the DRP™ evaluation is successful, OV may exclusively in-license the drug for further development within and by 2X Oncology Inc. The drug-specific DRP™ biomarker would consequently be used as a predictive companion diagnostic to select and enroll likely responder patients with a women’s cancer indication in a clinical Phase 2 trial.  Further terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

“Oncology Venture is thrilled to work with Eisai and develop a Drug Response Predictor (DRP™) for the compound, and if successful, the drug will be in-licensed for further DRP™-guided clinical development as a precision therapy for Women’s Cancers in 2X Oncology Inc. – a co-owned spinout from Oncology Venture,” said Peter Buhl Jensen, M.D., CEO of Oncology Venture.  

About the Drug Response Predictor (DRP™) biomarker platform

Oncology Venture uses the Medical Prognosis Institute (MPI) multi gene DRP™ to select those patients that by the genetic signature in their cancer is found to have a high likelihood of response to the drug. The goal is to develop the drug for the right patients and by screening patients before treatment the response rate can be significantly increased.

This DRP™ method builds on the comparison of sensitive vs. resistant human cancer cell lines including genomic information from cell lines combined with clinical tumor biology and clinical correlates in a systems biology network. The DRP™ is based on messenger RNA from the patients biopsies.

The DRP™ platform (i.e. the DRP™ and the PRP™ biomarkers) can be used in all cancer types, and is patented for more than 70 anti-cancer drugs in the US. The PRP™ is used by MPI for Personalized Medicine. The DRP™ is used in Oncology Venture for drug development.

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This information is information that Oncology Venture Sweden AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, on March 24th 2017.

About Oncology Venture Sweden AB

Oncology Venture Sweden AB is engaged in the research and development of anti-cancer drugs via its wholly owned Danish subsidiary Oncology Venture ApS. Oncology Venture has an exclusive license to use the Drug Response Predictor (DRP™) technology in order to significantly increase the probability of success in clinical trials. DRP™ has proven its ability to provide a statistically significant prediction of clinical outcomes from drug treatment in cancer patients in 29 of the 37 clinical studies that were examined. The Company uses a model that alters the odds in comparison with traditional pharmaceutical development. Instead of treating all patients with a particular type of cancer, patients’ tumors’ genes are screened first with DRP™ and only those who are most likely to respond to the treatment will be treated. Via a more well-defined patient group, the risk and costs are reduced while the development process becomes more efficient.

The current product portfolio: LiPlaCis® for Breast Cancer in collaboration with Cadila Pharmaceuticals, Irofulven developed from a fungus for prostate cancer and APO010 – an immuno-oncology product for Multiple Myeloma.

Oncology Venture has spun out two companies in Special Purpose Vehicles: 2X Oncology Inc. a US based company focusing on Precision medicine for women’s cancers with a pipeline of three promising phase 2 product candidates and Danish OV-SPV 2 will test and potentially develop an oral phase 2 Tyrosine Kinase inhibitor.