SAN JOSE, Calif., May 4, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Anixa
Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANIX), a biotechnology company focused
on the treatment, prevention, and diagnosis of cancer and
infectious diseases, today announced that it, with partner OntoChem
GmbH, has identified its first therapeutic candidate against
Covid-19, and has advanced the compound into biological
testing.
This is the first therapeutic candidate identified from the
strategic partnership recently established by Anixa and OntoChem to
evaluate over 1.2 billion molecules through an in silico
study to identify potential therapies for patients infected by
SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19
(https://ir.anixa.com/press-releases/detail/947/). Anixa believes
that drugs targeting the molecular biology of SARS-CoV-2 will
produce more powerful medicines than the drugs currently being
evaluated in trials, most of which were repurposed from other
diseases.
This first compound is expected to disrupt the interaction of
the virus's endoribonuclease with a host human protein that is
necessary for the virus to replicate upon
infection. Disrupting this protein-protein interaction is
expected to dramatically reduce or eliminate the virus's ability to
cause disease. The biological testing will initially determine
how well this compound binds to the endoribonuclease, and then how
well this translates into reducing viral replication in human host
cells.
Dr. Amit Kumar, President and CEO
of Anixa Biosciences stated, "While we continue to screen the full
libraries of compounds, we have already identified a potential drug
to be evaluated in biological testing against SARS-CoV-2. This
is in contrast with most existing efforts which are repurposed
compounds. With the urgency of the Covid-19 pandemic, we are
pleased that this program is moving forward at such a rapid
pace. As the study continues, we expect to identify several
additional drug candidates that will be evaluated biologically,
after which we will choose which compound to advance into animal
testing. If all goes as planned, drug discovery activities
could be completed within six months."
"We are excited to have quickly identified our first 'hit'
compound, and we anticipate this program will continue to advance
rapidly," stated Dr. Lutz Weber, CEO
of OntoChem. "To our knowledge, this project is screening the
largest number of compounds with the broadest chemical diversity
ever tried against SARS-CoV-2. Our expectation is that we will
identify multiple candidate compounds through our in silico
discovery effort while in parallel evaluating the most promising
candidates in biological assays."
Dr. Kumar continued, "Since SARS-CoV-2 has, in a matter of
months, caused a global pandemic and induced tremendous economic
disruptions, we intend to provide frequent updates on our
progress."
About Anixa Biosciences, Inc.
Anixa is a
publicly-traded biotechnology company developing a number of
programs addressing cancer and infectious disease. Anixa's
therapeutic portfolio includes a cancer vaccine technology focused
on the immunization against α-Lactalbumin to prevent triple
negative breast cancer (TNBC), a cancer immunotherapy program which
uses a novel type of CAR-T, known as chimeric endocrine receptor
T-cell (CER-T) technology, and a Covid-19 therapeutics program
focused on inhibiting certain viral protein function. The company's
diagnostic portfolio consists of Cchek™, a liquid biopsy technology
for early detection of solid tumors based on the body's immune
response to the presence of a malignancy. Anixa continually
examines emerging technologies in complementary fields for further
development and commercialization. Additional information is
available at www.anixa.com.
About OntoChem GmbH
OntoChem GmbH is a German based
company which is specialized in chemo- and bio-IT services. As a
data-driven company, OntoChem is using AI techniques to answer
project specific questions and is supporting scientists to discover
knowledge in the life sciences eco-system. OntoChem is located in
Halle (Saale) and
Stuttgart. Having started in 2005, the team has a long history
of developing and applying ontologies, software tools and data
streams for life and material science customers. More on OntoChem
at www.ontochem.com.
Forward-Looking Statements: Statements that
are not historical fact may be considered forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are not statements
of historical facts, but rather reflect Anixa's current
expectations concerning future events and results. We generally use
the words "believes," "expects," "intends," "plans," "anticipates,"
"likely," "will" and similar expressions to identify
forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements,
including those concerning our expectations, involve risks,
uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond our
control, which may cause our actual results, performance or
achievements, or industry results, to be materially different from
any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or
implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks,
uncertainties and factors include, but are not limited to, those
factors set forth in "Item 1A - Risk Factors" and other sections of
our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K as well as in our
Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K. We
undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise, except as required by law. You are
cautioned not to unduly rely on such forward-looking statements
when evaluating the information presented in this press
release.
Anixa contact:
Mike Catelani
mcatelani@anixa.com
408-708-9808
Tiberend Strategic Advisors, Inc.
Miriam Miller (Investors)
mmiller@tiberend.com
212-375-2694
Johanna Bennett (Media)
jbennett@tiberend.com
212-375-2686
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SOURCE Anixa Biosciences, Inc.