WOONSOCKET, R.I., May 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- MultiCell
Technologies, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: MCET) is pleased to
announce representatives from the Company will present preclinical
research findings for MCT-465 and MCT-485 at CIMT 2012
(http://meeting.cimt.eu), Europe's
largest meeting dedicated to cancer immunotherapy research and
development. CIMT 2012 will be held in May 23-25 in Mainz, Germany. The title of
the poster presentation is: "Sharply discordant biological
properties of synthetic noncoding dsRNA of different size:
Translational opportunities in cancer." The
poster presentation in the Enhancing Immunity session of the
conference (poster number 078) will be made by Dr. Simona Bot, a consultant to the Company.
The Company will present its findings during Poster Session I held
on May 23rd, from 3:00-4:30 PM, and Poster Session II held on
May 24th from 4:00-5:30 PM.
About MCT-465 and MCT-485
MCT-465 and MCT-485 are the first of a family of prospective
cancer therapeutics based on the use of our patented TLR3 signaling
technology. MCT-465 and MCT 485 are in preclinical
development, and are being investigated as prospective treatments
for primary liver cancer and triple negative breast
cancer.
The immune system is composed of two synergistic elements:
the innate immune system and the adaptive immune system.
Stimulation of the innate immune system through key receptors,
plays a critical role in triggering the adaptive immune response
stimulating T and B cells to produce antibodies. In cancer,
this integrated defense system does not work well, resulting in
suboptimal activation of innate immunity and thus, late or
inefficient adaptive immunity. The innate immune system is
composed of a family of ten receptor molecules, the Toll-like
Receptors (TLR1-TLR10), which act as sentries to identify invaders
and signal the alarm to mobilize the body's array of immune
defenses.
Within the tumor lesion, there may be infiltrating monocytes,
dendritic cells and leukocytes in general, that have the capability
to mobilize an adaptive or innate immune response but they are
either silent or immune suppressive in the absence of select immune
interventions. Such infiltrating non-cancerous immune cells
may express TLR3, other TLRs, RIG-I and/or MDA-5. In
addition, within tumor lesions, there may be cancerous cells or
stromal cells or cancer stem cells which express TLR3, other TLRs,
RIG-I and MDA-5 (representing RNA-sensing molecules).
Cancer stem cells are thought to play a role in a tumor's
resistance to therapy. While significant progress has been
made in developing cancer therapies that result in cytoreduction
and thus tumor regression, the control of cancer over a longer
interval and especially of metastatic disease, remains a key
goal. Cancer stem cells are believed to be responsible for
cancer relapse by being less sensitive to conventional
therapies.
MultiCell owns exclusive rights to two issued U.S. patents
(6,872,389 and 6,129,911), one U.S. patent application (U.S.
2006/0019387A1), and several corresponding issued and pending
foreign patents and patent applications related to the isolation
and differentiation of liver stem cells. The role of liver
stem cells in the carcinogenic process has recently led to a new
hypothesis that hepatocellular carcinoma arises by maturation
arrest of liver stem cells.
Double stranded RNA provides a therapeutic avenue for cancer
treatment through (a) activating intra-tumoral leukocytes,
abrogating their immune suppressive activity and/or (b) interacting
with cancerous cells and directly inducing apoptosis, or indirectly
through mobilization of immune effector mechanisms.
MCT-465 is a high molecular weight synthetic dsRNA (polyA:polyU,
of 70bps) with immune enhancing properties. The mechanism of
action of MCT-465 is pleiotropic and mediated by RNA sensors – such
as TLR3, 7/8, MDA-5 and RIG-I - expressed by antigen presenting
cells and select cases, by tumor cells:
- Induction of pro-inflammatory, immune enhancing cytokines
locally and systemically;
- Anti-angiogenic effects through a local exposure to IL-12 /
IFNgamma;
- In select cases, direct pro-apoptotic anti-tumoral effect.
Prior studies with similar compounds support a strong immune
enhancing effect of MCT-465, consisting in generation of Tc
immunity against tumors, when administered as a companion to a
vaccine. This raises the possibility that MCT-465 is an
effective adjunctive therapy to any small molecule targeted therapy
(such as tyrosine kinase inhibitors - TKIs) that results in release
of endogenous tumor antigen while interfering minimally with the
immune competence.
MCT-485 is a low molecular weight synthetic dsRNA (polyA:polyU
of 5bps) with direct tumor cytolytic properties. The
mechanism of action of MCT-485 is pleiotropic yet distinct from
that of MCT-465:
- Induction of tumor cell death upon direct exposure, while
normal cells are minimally affected.
- Production of TNF-alpha by cancer cells resulting in amplified
tumor cell death and a localized immune reaction that has the
potential to generalize and curb progression of metastatic
cancer.
About MultiCell Technologies, Inc.
MultiCell Technologies, Inc. is a clinical-stage
biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics and
discovery tools that address unmet medical needs for the treatment
of neurological disorders, hepatic disease and cancer. For more
information about MultiCell Technologies, please visit
http://www.multicelltech.com.
Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Any statements in this press release about MultiCell's
expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions or future
events or performance are not historical facts and are
forward-looking statements for purposes of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "Act"). These statements
are often, but not always, made through the use of words or phrases
such as "believe", "will", "expect", "anticipate", "estimate",
"intend", "plan", "forecast", "could", and "would". MultiCell bases
these forward- looking statements on current expectations about
future events. They involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and assumptions that may cause actual results, levels
of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from
those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statement.
Some of the risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause
actual results to differ materially from estimates or projections
in the forward-looking statement include, but are not limited to,
the risk that we might not achieve our anticipated clinical
development milestones, receive regulatory approval, or
successfully commercialize our products as expected, the market for
our products will not grow as expected, and the risk that our
products will not achieve expectations. For additional
information about risks and uncertainties MultiCell faces, see
documents that MultiCell files with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, including MultiCell's report on Form 10-K for the
fiscal year ended November 30, 2011,
and all of MultiCell's quarterly and other periodic SEC
filings. MultiCell claims the protection of the safe harbor
for forward-looking statements under the Act and assumes no
obligation and expressly disclaims any duty to update any
forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after
the date of this news release or to reflect the occurrence of
subsequent events.
SOURCE MultiCell Technologies, Inc.