LOS ANGELES, Dec. 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- CytRx
Corporation (NASDAQ: CYTR), a biopharmaceutical research and
development company specializing in oncology, today announced that
its private, wholly-owned subsidiary Centurion BioPharma
Corporation (the Company) has concluded the pre-clinical phase of
its development for its albumin binding ultra high potency LADR™
(Linker Activated Drug Release) drug candidates, LADR-7, LADR-8,
LADR-9 and LADR-10, and for its unique albumin companion diagnostic
(ACDx). As a result of completing this work, operations
taking place at the pre-clinical laboratory located in Freiburg,
Germany will no longer be
needed.
The LADR™ platform combines Centurion's proprietary linker
chemistry with albumin biology to create anti-cancer molecules that
the Company believes will deliver highly potent agents directly to
the tumor, while avoiding unacceptable systemic toxicity. The
pre-clinical laboratory synthesized and evaluated over 75
rationally-designed drug conjugates across two distinct classes of
compounds, the auristatins and maytansinoids. In vitro,
in vivo, stability and manufacturing feasibility testing is
now complete for all four lead LADR candidates as well for
ACDx. The pre-clinical stage dossiers for all of these assets
are now complete and are ready for transfer to a strategic
partner.
"Our investment in the Freiburg pre-clinical laboratory has
yielded a platform of personalized medicine assets, including a
highly unique companion diagnostic for use alongside four albumin
binding drug conjugates," said Eric
Curtis, CytRx's President and Chief Operating Officer.
"The world-class pre-clinical team has achieved the critical steps
and each of these pipeline assets are now eligible for IND-enabling
studies. As a result of the completion of this project, CytRx
will have reduced its cash burn and will utilize its financial
resources for other opportunities while we work to secure a
strategic transaction for the LADR and ACDx assets, with the goal
of executing such a transaction as soon as possible. The
company remains under CDA with several big pharma companies and is
continuing discussions regarding a potential partnership."
About the LADR™ Drug Candidates and the Albumin Companion
Diagnostic
Centurion BioPharma's LADR™ (Linker Activated Drug Release)
technology employs a broad portfolio of novel linker molecules that
selectively bind to circulating albumin and have the ability to be
linked to a wide variety of anti-cancer payloads. Centurion's
LADR™ drug candidates, LADR-7, LADR-8, LADR-9 and LADR-10, utilize
the anti-cancer agents maytansine and auristatin E to maximize
tumor cell kill potential while minimizing systemic toxicity.
Centurion believes these agents have the potential to be combined
with immunotherapies to improve the efficacy and safety of
treatments for cancers that have typically been difficult to
treat. At the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
2018 Annual Meeting, scientific research was presented which
described the breakthrough data supporting Centurion's selection of
its current LADR assets for advancement toward Investigational New
Drug-enabling studies. These targeted compounds demonstrated
excellent, long-term antitumor activity across a wide range of
human solid tumor cancer types, including lung, breast, ovarian,
head and neck, renal cell, and melanoma.
In July 2018, Centurion filed a
provisional patent application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark
Office covering its unique albumin companion diagnostic (ACDx) for
use alongside its albumin binding ultra-high potency LADR™ (Linker
Activated Drug Release) drug candidates. The goal of ACDx is
to identify patients with cancer who are most likely to benefit
from treatment with LADR-7, LADR-8, LADR-9 and LADR-10.
About Centurion BioPharma Corporation
CytRx's wholly owned subsidiary, Centurion BioPharma
Corporation, is focused on the development of personalized medicine
that will transform solid tumor treatment. This transformational
strategy combines a portfolio of novel, anti-cancer drug candidates
that employ LADR™ (Linker Activated Drug Release) technology, a
discovery engine designed to leverage Centurion's expertise in
albumin biology and linker technology for the development of a new
class of breakthrough anti-cancer therapies with a unique albumin
companion diagnostic (ACDx) that can help identify patients who are
most likely to benefit from treatment with the LADR™-derived
therapies. A critical element of the LADR™ platform is its ability
to bind anti-cancer molecules to circulating albumin, the most
ubiquitous protein in human blood plasma, and then to release the
highly potent cytotoxic payload at the tumor site. This technology
allows for the delivery of higher doses of drug directly to the
tumor, while avoiding much of the off-target toxicity observed with
the parent molecules.
About CytRx Corporation
CytRx Corporation (NASDAQ: CYTR) is a biopharmaceutical
company with expertise in discovering and developing new
therapeutics to treat patients with cancer. CytRx's most
advanced drug conjugate, aldoxorubicin, is an improved version of
the widely used anti-cancer drug doxorubicin and has been
out-licensed to NantCell, Inc. In
addition, CytRx's other drug candidate, arimoclomol has
been out-licensed to Orphazyme A/S (Nasdaq Copenhagen
exchange). Orphazyme is testing arimoclomol in four
indications including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS),
Niemann-Pick disease Type C (NPC), Gaucher disease and sporadic
Inclusion Body Myositis (sIBM).
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Such
statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual
events or results to differ materially from the events or results
described in the forward-looking statements, including risks and
uncertainties relating to the ability of Centurion BioPharma to
enter into strategic transactions or partnerships involving the
LADR™ drug candidates LADR‑7, LADR-8, LADR-9 and LADR-10, and the
companion diagnostic ACDx, and to enter clinical trials or obtain
regulatory approvals for any such products; the efficacy and safety
of such products; NantCell, Inc., to obtain regulatory
approval for its products that use aldoxorubicin; the ability
of NantCell, Inc., to manufacture and commercialize products
or therapies that use aldoxorubicin; the amount, if any, of future
milestone and royalty payments that we may receive
from NantCell, Inc.; risks and uncertainties relating to the
ability of Orphazyme A/S to obtain regulatory approval for its
products that use arimoclomol; the ability of Orphazyme A/S to
manufacture and commercialize products or therapies that use
arimoclomol; the amount, if any, of future milestone and royalty
payments that we may receive from Orphazyme A/S; Centurion
BioPharma Corporation's ability to develop new ultra-high
potency drug candidates based on its LADR™ technology platform; our
ability to attract potential licensees; and other risks and
uncertainties described in the most recent annual and quarterly
reports filed by CytRx with the Securities and
Exchange Commission and current reports filed since the date
of CytRx's most recent annual report. All forward-looking
statements are based upon information available
to CytRx on the date the statements are first
published. CytRx and Centurion BioPharma undertakes no
obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events
or otherwise.
Investor Relations Contact:
Argot Partners
Michelle Carroll
(212) 600-1902
michelle@argotpartners.com
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