Professor Nancy Rigotti, MD,
will chair a symposium entitled "Cytisine Update: Moving Research
Forward Toward a Globally Affordable Tobacco Cessation
Medication"
Other presenters include Natalie
Walker, PhD; David Shurtleff,
PhD; SooHee Jeong, PhD; and
Kamran Siddiqi, PhD.
MILL VALLEY, Calif.,
BOTHELL, Wash. and VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March. 8, 2017
/PRNewswire/ -- Achieve Life Sciences, Inc. ("Achieve"), and
OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: OGXI) ("OncoGenex") today
announced that the Society for Research in Nicotine and Tobacco
(SRNT) will be holding a symposium on cytisine research at this
year's annual conference, to be held at the Firenze Fiera Congress
and Exhibition Center in Florence,
Italy from March
7th – 11th. The cytisine symposium
will be on Friday 10th March at 10:30 a.m.
Professor Nancy Rigotti, MD,
Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical
School is chairing the symposium, with presentations from
Associate Professor Natalie Walker,
PhD, National Institute for Health Innovation, University of
Auckland, on "Cytisine versus
Varenicline for Smoking Cessation: Two Clinical Trials from the
Australasian Cytisine Trialist Group" and "The Challenge to Getting
Cytisine Licensed For Use Worldwide: Policy Considerations". Dr.
Walker conducted the 2014 CASCAID Phase 3 clinical trial – a 1,310
patient trial comparing cytisine to nicotine replacement
therapy.
Further to Achieve's collaboration with the National Institute
of Health (NIH) to advance research on cytisine, Dr. David Shurtleff, PhD and Deputy Director at the
NIH, National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, will
also be presenting: "The Regulatory Science of Cytisine: Results
from Pre-Clinical GLP-Regulated Safety Assessment".
Other topics to be covered at the symposium include a
presentation on cytisine for smoking cessation in tuberculosis
patients, to be presented by Kamran
Siddiqi, PhD, University of York; and a presentation by SooHee Jeong, PhD, University of Auckland, about the concentration-effect
relationship in smokers in relation to plasma cytisine
concentrations, cigarette craving, withdrawal, smoking satisfaction
and mood.
Dr. Anthony Clarke, PhD, Chief
Scientific Officer of Achieve commented, "Significant research
advances are progressing with cytisine. Achieve appreciates the
contributions from the scientific community in aiding Achieve in
its efforts to obtain regulatory approval for cytisine as a
cost-effective smoking cessation treatment".
Professor Nancy Rigotti added,
"The scientific community considers cytisine to potentially be a
globally affordable tobacco cessation treatment. Regulatory
authorities should be encouraged to progress the availability of
cytisine as a matter of priority."
Two Phase 3 clinical trials of cytisine have been successfully
completed in over 2,000 patients. The TASC Phase 3 trial was a 740
patient, double-blind placebo controlled trial conducted by
University College London. The CASCAID trial was a 1,310 patient,
single-blind trial comparing cytisine to nicotine replacement
therapy. Both trials were published in the New England Journal of
Medicine in December 2011 and
December 2014
respectively.
Achieve announced on 5th January that it has entered
into a definitive merger agreement with OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals,
Inc.
About Achieve and Cytisine
Achieve is developing
cytisine as a smoking cessation aid. Cytisine is a plant-based
alkaloid with a high binding affinity to the nicotinic
acetylcholine receptor. It is an established smoking cessation
treatment that has been approved and marketed in Central and
Eastern Europe for more than 15
years. It is estimated that over 20 million people have used
cytisine to help combat nicotine addiction, including approximately
2,000 patients in Phase 3 clinical trials conducted in Europe and New
Zealand. Achieve's focus is to address the global smoking
health epidemic, which is currently the leading cause of
preventable death and is responsible for nearly six million people
losing their lives annually worldwide. Discussions have been held
with FDA and a European regulatory agency to determine the clinical
and regulatory pathway towards making cytisine widely
available.
Important Additional Information about the Proposed
Merger
This communication is being made in respect of the
proposed merger involving OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals,
Inc. and Achieve Life Science, Inc. OncoGenex
intends to file a registration statement on Form S-4 with
the SEC, which will contain a joint proxy statement/prospectus
and other relevant materials, and plans to file with
the SEC other documents regarding the proposed
transaction. The final joint proxy statement/prospectus will be
sent to the stockholders of OncoGenex and Achieve. The joint proxy
statement/prospectus will contain information about OncoGenex,
Achieve, the proposed merger and related matters. STOCKHOLDERS
ARE URGED TO READ THE JOINT PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS (INCLUDING
ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS) AND OTHER DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE
SEC CAREFULLY IN THEIR ENTIRETY WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE, AS THEY
WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION THAT STOCKHOLDERS SHOULD
CONSIDER BEFORE MAKING A DECISION ABOUT THE MERGER AND RELATED
MATTERS. In addition to receiving the joint proxy
statement/prospectus and proxy card by mail, stockholders will also
be able to obtain the joint proxy statement/prospectus, as well as
other filings containing information about OncoGenex, without
charge, from the SEC's website (http://www.sec.gov) or,
without charge, by directing a written request
to: OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 19820 North
Creek Parkway, Suite 201, Bothell, WA 98011, Attention: Investor
Relations or to Achieve Life Science, Inc., 30 Sunnyside
Avenue, Mill Valley, CA 94941, Attention: Rick
Stewart.
This communication shall not constitute an offer to sell or the
solicitation of an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to
buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in
any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be
unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the
securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offering of securities
in connection with the proposed merger shall be made except by
means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10
of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
Participants in Solicitation
OncoGenex and its
executive officers and directors may be deemed to be participants
in the solicitation of proxies from OncoGenex's stockholders with
respect to the matters relating to the proposed merger. Achieve and
its officers and directors may also be deemed a participant in such
solicitation. Information regarding OncoGenex's executive officers
and directors is available in OncoGenex's proxy statement on
Schedule 14A, filed with the SEC on April 21, 2016.
Information regarding any interest that OncoGenex, Achieve or any
of the executive officers or directors of OncoGenex or Achieve may
have in the transaction with Achieve will be set forth in the joint
proxy statement/prospectus that OncoGenex intends to file with
the SEC in connection with its stockholder vote on
matters relating to the proposed merger. Stockholders will be able
to obtain this information by reading the joint proxy
statement/prospectus when it becomes available.
About OncoGenex
OncoGenex is a biopharmaceutical
company committed to the development and commercialization of new
therapies that address treatment resistance in cancer patients. The
company's product candidate, apatorsen (OGX-427), is designed to
inhibit production of Hsp27, disable cancer cells' defenses and
overcome treatment resistance. Hsp27 is an intracellular protein
that protects cancer cells by helping them survive, leading to
resistance and more aggressive cancer phenotypes. Both the
potential single-agent activity and synergistic activity of
apatorsen with cancer treatments may increase the overall benefit
of existing therapies and augment the durability of treatment
outcomes, which could lead to increased patient survival. More
information is available at www.OncoGenex.com and at the
company's Twitter account: https://twitter.com/OncoGenex_IR.
OncoGenex' Forward Looking Statements
This press
release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of
the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, statements
regarding the proposed merger with Achieve Life Science; the
development and potential regulatory approval of cytisine; the
potential benefits of cytisine; and the cost of cytisine. All
statements other than statements of historical fact are statements
that could be deemed forward-looking statements. OncoGenex and/or
Achieve may not actually achieve the proposed merger, or any plans
or product development goals in a timely manner, if at all, or
otherwise carry out the intentions or meet the expectations or
projections disclosed in these forward-looking statements. These
statements are based on management's current expectations and
beliefs and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and
assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those described in the forward-looking statements, including,
among others, the failure of the OncoGenex or Achieve stockholders
to approve the transaction; the failure of either party to meet the
closing conditions of the transaction; delays in completing the
transaction and the risk that the transaction may not be completed
at all; the failure to realize the anticipated benefits from the
transaction or delay in realization thereof; the success of the
combined businesses; operating costs and business disruption during
the pendency of and following the proposed merger; the risk that
product candidates will not receive regulatory approval or be
successfully commercialized; the risk that new developments in the
rapidly evolving cancer therapy landscape require changes in
business strategy or clinical development plans; the risk that
product candidates may not demonstrate the hypothesized or expected
benefits; general business and economic conditions; and the
other factors described in our risk factors set forth in
OncoGenex's filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission from time to time, including its Annual Report on
Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. OncoGenex undertakes
no obligation to update the forward-looking statements contained
herein or to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the
date hereof, other than as may be required by applicable law.
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/achieve-life-sciences-and-oncogenex-pharmaceuticals-announce-cytisine-symposium-at-the-annual-society-for-research-in-nicotine-and-tobacco-conference-srnt-300419846.html
SOURCE OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc.