Corporate | 23 April 2015 09:15
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WILEX AG / Key word(s): Study results
PRESS RELEASE Results of Heidelberg Pharma’s research cooperation with MD Anderson Cancer Center published in Nature journal – Subpopulation of colorectal cancers (CRC) is more vulnerable for therapy by ATACs because of a common genetic alteration – Responsible for high subpopulation sensitivity is a hemizygous status of TP53 tumor suppressor gene and POLR2A gene, occuring in about 50% of CRC patients – Patient stratification by gene status of TP53 or POLR2A could expand therapeutic window of ATACs significantly Munich, Germany, 23 April 2015 – WILEX AG (ISIN DE000A11QVV0 / WL6 / FSE) today announced that pioneering study results on the Antibody Targeted Amanitin Conjugates (ATACs) technology have been published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature , in a report by the Department of Cancer Biology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and scientists of Heidelberg Pharma, a subsidiary of WILEX. In preclinical studies, research groups from MD Anderson and Heidelberg Pharma demonstrated the extraordinary efficacy of ATAC therapeutics in the treatment of a colorectal cancer subpopulation with alterations in the status of the tumor suppressor gene TP53. The reason for these alterations is the co-deletion of one copy of TP53 and the neighbouring POLR2A gene, which codes for the ATAC-target RNA polymerase II. Such hemizygous gene status of TP53 and POLR2A leads to reduced expression of RNA polymerase II and thus the significantly higher sensitivity of cancer cells towards ATACs. In preclinical, in vitro and in vivo, studies ATACs exhibited an approximately ten times higher antitumoral activity on POLR2A hemizygous cancers compared to homozygous cancers. Initial data indicates similar gene status alterations in other tumors, making ATACs a promising therapeutic strategy for patients suffering from highly resistant malignancies. In a clinical setting the selection of patients based on TP53 or POLR2A gene status will allow the expansion of the therapeutic window of ATACs and ensure high efficacy while minimizing toxicity. Professor Andreas Pahl, CSO of Heidelberg Pharma GmbH, commented: “The use of TP53 and POLR2A gene status as a biomarker for ATAC sensitivity could allow the stratification of patients most likely to benefit from treatment with ATACs. Patient selection with respect to payload sensitivity is a new approach in the field of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and could help to circumvent the current limitations of this class of therapeutics.” Professor Xiongbin Lu, MD Anderson Cancer Center, said: “Today CRC patients with altered TP53 gene status have a non-favourable prognosis and only a few beneficial treatment options. With the discovery of POLR2A as a therapeutic target for p53 mutant tumors, ATACs could significantly improve the therapeutic outcome in such cancer populations.” The report abstract can be accessed at nature.com .
About Heidelberg Pharma’s proprietary ATAC technology
About WILEX and Heidelberg Pharma
This communication contains certain forward-looking statements relating to the Company’s business, which can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “estimates”, “believes”, “expects”, “may”, “will”, “should”, “future”, “potential” or similar expressions or by a general discussion of the Company’s strategy, plans or intentions. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause our actual results of operations, financial position, earnings, achievements, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, earnings or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Given these uncertainties, prospective investors and partners are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. We disclaim any obligation to update any such forward- looking statements to reflect future events or developments. 2015-04-23 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP – a service of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de |
| Language: | English | |
| Company: | WILEX AG | |
| Grillparzerstr. 10 | ||
| 81675 München | ||
| Germany | ||
| Phone: | +49 (0)89 41 31 38 – 0 | |
| Fax: | +49 (0)89 41 31 38 – 99 | |
| E-mail: | info@wilex.com | |
| Internet: | www.wilex.com | |
| ISIN: | DE000A11QVV0 | |
| WKN: | A11QVV | |
| Listed: | Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Munich, Stuttgart | |
| End of News | DGAP News-Service |
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| 347549 2015-04-23 |