Press release

Oncopeptides has appointed a Clinical Advisory Board consisting of internationally recognized researchers within clinical development in hematology

April 23, 2018
Stockholm – April 23 2018 – Oncopeptides AB (Nasdaq Stockholm, ONCO) today announced that the company has appointed a Clinical Advisory Board. The aim is to identify development opportunities both with Ygalo® within the planned first indication, new indications and for the further development of Oncopeptides’ pipeline.

Professor Paul G. Richardson, MD, will be chairman of this clinical advisory board. The other members are Dr. Lori A Kunkel, MD, Professor Axel Glasmacher, MD, and Dr. Christian Jacques, MD. Dr. Bengt Gustavsson, Head of Medical Relations for Oncopeptides will be the committee secretary.

CEO comment

“This is a big step for Oncopeptides. We get the opportunity to establish a clinical advisory board consisting of recognized specialists within the field of hematology-oncology and deep knowledge in pharmaceutical development in myeloma. We are now in a better position than before to be able to help patients to the best of our ability. It is also a recognition of Ygalo® as a relevant clinical drug candidate”, says Jakob Lindberg, CEO of Oncopeptides.

Biographies

Professor Paul G. Richardson, MD, RJ Corman Professor of Medicine HMS at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA. Dr. Richardson currently holds leadership positions in several professional bodies and serves several Editorial Boards. He serves on the Steering Committee and Project Review Committee for the Multiple Myeloma Research Consortium (MMRC). He chairs the Multiple Myeloma Committee for the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology (the former CALG). Dr. Richardson has published more than 340 original articles and more than 260 reviews, chapters, and editorials in leading peer-reviewed journals, and he has been a leader in the clinical development of bortezomib, lenalidomide, panobinostat, pomalidomide, elotuzumab, and daratumumab.

Dr. Lori A Kunkel, MD, currently works as an independent consultant for several companies. She has more than 20 years of experience in clinical development, commercialization of pharmaceuticals and has worked as Chief Medical Officer at a number of oncology companies including Pharmacyclics and Proteolix. Dr Kunkel was previously active at the UCLA School of Medicine.

Professor Axel Glasmacher, MD, was until recently Senior Vice President and Head of the Global Clinical Research and Development Hematology Oncology at Celgene where he has worked in various global roles for more than ten years. Prior to that, Professor Glasmacher worked in hematology-oncology at the University Hospital in Bonn.

Dr. Christian Jacques, MD, is a Hematologist-Oncologist (UCL, 1988) who has more than 25 years of experience in clinical development of new drug candidates. Dr. Jacques has a broad industrial experience and has worked in several global pharmaceutical companies including Novartis, J & J, and most recently as Global Myeloma Therapeutic Area Head at Celgene Inc. Dr. Jacques is Chief Scientific Officer at Oncopeptides.

Ygalo® in clinical development

Ygalo® has been investigated in the treatment of late-stage relapsed refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) patients. This was done in the clinical study O-12-M1 where strong final results were reported in December 2017. Currently, three clinical studies, including ANCHOR, are ongoing with Ygalo®.

In the ANCHOR study, Ygalo® will be administered in combination with either bortezomib or daratumumab in RRMM patients. The results of this study aim to create understanding and knowledge among treating physicians for how Ygalo® can be used in combination with these drugs. In addition, the results could open up for the use of Ygalo® in earlier lines of treatment.

OCEAN is Oncopeptides´ pivotal Phase III study where Ygalo® is compared directly with current standard of care, pomalidomide, in late-stage RRMM patients.

HORIZON is a Phase II study that studies the effect of Ygalo® in late-stage RRMM patients with few or no remaining established treatment options. Interim data from this study was reported in December 2017.

For further information, please contact or visit www.oncopeptides.se:

Jakob Lindberg, CEO of Oncopeptides
Cell phone: +46 705 695 471
E-mail:
jakob.lindberg@oncopeptides.se  

Rein Piir, Head of Investor Relations at Oncopeptides
Cell phone: +46 708 537 292
E-mail:
rein.piir@oncopeptides.se

The information was submitted through the agency of the contact person above for publication at 09.00 CET on  April 23, 2018. 

About Ygalo®

Ygalo® is a next generation alkylator treatment, a peptidase enhanced cytotoxic (PEnC), that targets cancer cells through a mechanism called peptidase potentiation. In cell culture studies, traditional alkylators target the bone marrow (which causes side effects) and cancer cells (which treats the disease) equally well. In contrast, Ygalo® targets the cancer cells 50x better than the bone-marrow cells. 

About Oncopeptides

Oncopeptides is a research and development stage pharmaceutical company developing drugs for the treatment of cancer. Since the founding of the company, the focus has primarily been on the development of the lead product candidate Ygalo®, an innovative, peptidase-potentiated alkylator intended for effective and focused treatment of hematological cancers, and in particular multiple myeloma. The current clinical study program of Ygalo® is intended to demonstrate better results from treatment with Ygalo® compared to established alternative drugs for patients with late-stage multiple myeloma. Ygalo® could potentially provide physicians with a new treatment option for patients suffering from this serious disease.