London, UK, Cambridge, MA, and Barcelona, Spain: 14 June 2010 - Cancer drug developer Antisoma plc (LSE: ASM; USOTC: ATSMY) announces that five presentations, including an oral presentation, supporting the development of AS1413 (amonafide L-malate) and AS1411 were presented over the weekend at the European Hematology Association (EHA) meeting in Barcelona. All are available on Antisoma's website at http://www.antisoma.com (http://www.antisoma.com/). Details of the presentations can be found below.
Enquiries:
Antisoma plc:
Glyn Edwards, CEO
Daniel Elger, VP Marketing & Communications +44 (0)7909 915 068
Details of the presentations at EHA
AS1413
#0079 The presence of P-glycoprotein (MDR1) affects the ability of AML patients to achieve complete remission; results of a meta-analysis of the literature; Marie et al. (poster)
#0650 Treatment-related AML and AML evolving from MDS: Similar outcomes following treatment with amonafide + cytarabine; Sekeres et al. (poster)
#0457 The novel DNA intercalator amonafide (AS1413) disrupts the cell cycle by mechanisms distinct from those of Topo II inhibitors daunorubicin and etoposide; Senderovich et al. (poster)
AS1411
#1119 Long-term outcomes of responders in a randomized, controlled phase II trial of aptamer AS1411 in AML; Stuart et al. (oral presentation)
#0643 Gene expression analysis in AML cell line MV4-11 following treatment with the anti-cancer aptamer AS1411 Senderovich et al. (poster)
About AS1413 (amonafide L-malate)
AS1413 (amonafide L-malate) was added to Antisoma's pipeline through the acquisition of Xanthus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in June 2008. AS1413 is a novel DNA intercalator that induces apoptotic signalling by blocking topoisomerase II binding to DNA. This differs from the action of classical topoisomerase II inhibitors, which induce apoptosis by causing extensive DNA damage. A further distinctive feature of AS1413 is its ability to evade Pgp and related transporters responsible for multi-drug resistance (MDR). A pivotal phase III trial (ACCEDE) is evaluating AS1413 as a treatment for secondary AML, a condition often associated with MDR and in which outcomes with currently available treatments are poor. Earlier this month, the US Food and Drug Administration granted AS1413 Fast Track status for the treatment of secondary AML.
About AS1411
AS1411 was originally developed by Dr Paula Bates, Dr John Trent and Prof. Donald Miller at the University of Alabama and later at the University of Louisville. Antisoma added AS1411 to its pipeline when it acquired the Louisville-based company Aptamera Inc. in 2005. AS1411 belongs to a new type of drugs called aptamers. These are short pieces of DNA or RNA that fold into three-dimensional structures capable of targeting particular proteins. AS1411 is a DNA aptamer that binds to nucleolin, a protein expressed in the nucleus of all cells but which in cancer cells is also exposed on the cell surface, providing a basis for specific targeting by AS1411. When AS1411 binds to nucleolin on cancer cells, it is internalised and causes apoptosis through interference with various functions of nucleolin. AS1411 is being evaluated in a phase IIb trial in patients with relapsed and refractory AML.
About Antisoma
Antisoma is a London Stock Exchange-listed biopharmaceutical company that develops novel products for the treatment of cancer. The Company has operations in the UK and the US. Please visit www.antisoma.com (http://www.antisoma.com/) for further information about Antisoma.
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