Genprex Amends Options to License Additional Cancer Fighting Technologies from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Cen...
August 28 2018 - 08:30AM
Business Wire
Genprex, Inc. (NASDAQ: GNPX), a clinical stage gene therapy
company developing a new approach to treating cancer based upon a
novel proprietary technology platform, announced today that it has
entered into amendments with The University of Texas MD Anderson
Cancer Center (MD Anderson) to extend the terms of two option
agreements between Genprex and MD Anderson pertaining the use of
TUSC2, the active agent in Genprex’s lead product candidate
Oncoprex, in combination with immunotherapies and the development
and the use of biomarkers to predict patient response to TUSC2
therapy.
“These agreements will provide the opportunity to obtain
additional patent protection for our TUSC2 gene therapy platform,”
said Rodney Varner, CEO of Genprex. “With these amended agreements
in place, we will continue to advance and expand our clinical
development program with Oncoprex for the treatment of non-small
cell lung cancer and other potential therapeutic targets.”
The first amended agreement provides Genprex with an option to
exclusively license patent applications and related intellectual
property relating to methods of treating cancer by combining TUSC2
with any of the immune checkpoint inhibitors known to stimulate
immune responses, including but not limited to nivolumab (Opdivo®),
pembrolizumab (Keytruda®), ipilimumab (Yervoy®), and anti-KIR
antibodies such as lirilumab.
Researchers at MD Anderson reported data from preclinical
research at the 2017 meeting of the American Association for Cancer
Research demonstrating that TUSC2 alone or in combination with
checkpoint blockade (anti-PD-1 and/or anti-CTLA4) significantly
prolonged mouse survival in a non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)
metastasis model compared to checkpoint blockade alone. The
greatest increase in survival was seen with TUSC2 combined with
checkpoint blockade. The treatment response was associated with
high infiltration of NK cells and CD8 T cells, and low infiltration
of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) in the tumor
microenvironment.
The second amended agreement provides Genprex with an option to
exclusively license an issued U.S. patent, foreign patent
applications, and related intellectual property pertaining to
methods for predicting a patient’s response to a TUSC2 therapy and
methods for treating a patient previously predicted to have a
favorable response to a TUSC2 therapeutic in conjunction with an
epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor and/or a protein
kinase inhibitor.
Each amendment extends the term of the related option agreement
to March 13, 2019, in consideration of the payment of $25,000.
About Genprex, Inc.
Genprex, Inc. is a clinical stage gene therapy company
developing a new approach to treating cancer, based upon a novel
proprietary technology platform, including Genprex’s initial
product candidate, Oncoprex™ immunogene therapy for non-small cell
lung cancer (NSCLC). Genprex’s platform technologies are designed
to administer cancer fighting genes by encapsulating them into
nanoscale hollow spheres called nanovesicles, which are then
administered intravenously and taken up by tumor cells where they
express proteins that are missing or found in low quantities.
Oncoprex has a multimodal mechanism of action whereby it interrupts
cell signaling pathways that cause replication and proliferation of
cancer cells, re-establishes pathways for apoptosis, or programmed
cell death, in cancer cells, and modulates the immune response
against cancer cells. Oncoprex has also been shown to block
mechanisms that create drug resistance.
For more information, please
visit www.genprex.com or www.facebook.com/genprexinc.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements contained in this press release regarding matters
that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements"
within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995. Because such statements are subject to risks and
uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those
expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such
statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding
the effect of TUSC2 on cancer, either alone or in combination with
other drugs, as well as the effect of methods for predicting
patients’ response to therapy. Risks that contribute to the
uncertain nature of the forward-looking statements include the
presence and level of TUSC2’s effect on cancer, the effect on
cancer of combining TUSC2 with immunotherapies, EGFR inhibitors, or
other drugs, whether or not Genprex will be able to negotiate and
execute final technology license agreements under the described
options, and the nature and scope of protection ultimately provided
under any of the licensed patents and patent applications should
such technology license agreements be executed, the timing and
success of our clinical trials and planned clinical trials of TUSC2
and Oncoprex and our other potential product candidates and the
timing and success of obtaining FDA approval of Oncoprex and our
other potential product candidates. These and other risks and
uncertainties are described more fully under the caption "Risk
Factors" and elsewhere in our filings and reports with the United
States Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking
statements contained in this press release speak only as of the
date on which they were made. We undertake no obligation to update
such statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that
exist after the date on which they were made.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180828005139/en/
Media:ICR HealthcareJames Heins,
203-682-8251James.Heins@icrinc.comorInvestors:ICR
HealthcareStephanie Carrington,
646-277-1282Stephanie.Carrington@icrinc.com
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