Late Breaking Oral Presentation (abstract #LBA4001) on June 6 at 8:12 AM
Mainz, Germany, May 17, 2016 / B3C newswire / -- Ganymed Pharmaceuticals AG, a biopharmaceutical company developing highly targeted immunotherapies against cancer, announced today that it will present promising efficacy and safety data from its Phase IIb clinical study of IMAB362 in gastroesophageal cancer at the upcoming ASCO 2016 Annual Meeting.
The late-breaking oral presentation (abstract #LBA4001) will be made by Dr. Salah-Eddin Al-Batran, Oncologist and director of the Institute of Clinical Cancer Research, Nordwest Hospital, University Cancer Center Frankfurt, Germany and will take place on June 6 at 8:12 AM in Hall B1.
The presentation is titled: FAST: An international, multicenter, randomized, Phase II trial of epirubicin, oxaliplatin, and capecitabine (EOX) with or without IMAB362, a first-in-class anti-CLDN18.2 antibody, as first-line therapy in patients with advanced CLDN18.2+ gastric and gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) adenocarcinoma.
“We are honored to have been invited by ASCO to present the most recent data on IMAB362, which stands for a new immuno-oncological treatment concept”, said Dr. Özlem Türeci, co-founder and CEO of Ganymed. “We are very excited about the data from our Phase II clinical study and are currently preparing to move this highly selective antibody into Phase III development.”
About IMAB362
IMAB362 is a first-in-class immunotherapeutic drug candidate that is selective and specific for the tight junction protein Claudin-18.2 (CLDN18.2). This unique target is restricted to differentiated stomach cells only and is absent from all other tested healthy tissues. CLDN18.2 is however overexpressed in up to 80% of gastrointestinal adenocarcinomas (primary and metastasized) and 60% pancreatic tumors in addition to other solid cancers.
IMAB362 has received orphan drug designation in the US and Europe for gastric cancer and will soon enter into phase III clinical development for gastroesophageal cancer. IMAB362 showed strong evidence for single agent anticancer activity in previous clinical studies in heavily pretreated patients with CLDN18.2-positive gastroesophageal cancer. IMAB362 was safe and well tolerated during these studies.
About Ganymed Pharmaceuticals AG
Ganymed Pharmaceuticals AG is a biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of immunotherapeutic cancer drugs called Ideal Monoclonal Antibodies (IMABs). IMABs are unique in that they are highly selective for proteins which are present on tumor cells, but do not bind to healthy cells. This unmatched tumor cell specificity makes IMABs cancer cell selective allowing them to efficiently kill tumor cells without harming normal healthy tissues. They can thus be administered at optimal dose and have a broad therapeutic window with reduced risks of side effects.
Ganymed’s lead program, IMAB362 will soon enter into Phase III testing for the treatment of gastroesophageal cancer.
Ganymed is also developing IMAB027, a monoclonal antibody targeting Claudin-6 which is absent in healthy adult organs, but is expressed in a wide range of solid cancers, including testicular, ovarian, uterine, and lung cancers. Ganymed recently completed a Phase I clinical trial (OVAR) to assess the efficacy and safety of IMAB027 as single agent in patients with advanced ovarian cancer and foresees initiating Phase II studies by end of 2016.
Ganymed is a private company that was founded in 2001 as a spin-off from the Universities of Mainz and Zurich. Its majority shareholder is ATS Beteiligungsverwaltung GmbH. Other investors include Future Capital AG, MIG Fonds, FCPB Gany GmbH, and private individuals.
Contacts
Ganymed Pharmaceutical AG
Dr. Luc St-Onge
Business Development
An der Goldgrube 12
55131 Mainz
Germany
+49 (0)6131 1440 100
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