Soricimed Publishes the Results of Phase I Study of SOR-C13 in Patients with Advanced Solid Tumors

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Feb. 21, 2017) - Soricimed Biopharma Inc. ("Soricimed"), a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company discovering and developing peptide-based cancer therapeutics, is pleased to announce publication of their paper entitled, First-in-human phase I study of SOR-C13, a TRPV6 calcium channel inhibitor, in patients with advanced solid tumors. This peer-reviewed paper was published in the journal Investigational New Drugs, The Journal of New Anticancer Agents. This open-access publication can be viewed online at http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10637-017-0438-z

SOR-C13 is the first drug candidate targeting TRPV6 to enter human clinical trials. This publication describes the design and results of a multi-center Phase 1 clinical trial and shares the conclusion that SOR-C13 was safe and well tolerated, without evidence of the significant toxicities often observed with cytotoxic chemotherapy. Additionally, the study provided preliminary indication of anticancer activity, including promising activity in two patients with pancreatic cancer, who had failed three prior regimens of treatment. These findings follow recent announcements of SOR-C13 being granted orphan drug designation for the treatment of both ovarian and pancreatic cancer, by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

"It is important for the advancement of novel approaches to address difficult to treat cancer and be able to share details of Soricimed's Phase I trial in such a well-respected peer-reviewed journal", stated Siqing Fu, M.D., Ph.D., Principal Investigator & Associate Professor, University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center. "This trial involved 9 investigators and three clinical sites in the United States and Canada and was conducted under FDA and Health Canada regulations. The findings from this trial are very promising and warrant further study. My colleagues and I, at MD Anderson, look forward to working with Soricimed on future clinical trials of SOR-C13 as a new approach to treating solid-tumor cancer."

"We are very pleased to be sharing our strong scientific and clinical data with the anticancer community", stated Professor Jack Stewart, Chief Scientific Officer, Soricimed Biopharma, Inc. "Anonymous peer review helps validate our methods, our data interpretation and our conclusions from this important study. These results, plus our two Orphan Drug Status designations, warrant developing this new drug to the next human trials. It's an exciting time for Soricimed."

About SOR-C13: SOR-C13 is a first-in-class peptide in development for the treatment of cancer. SOR-C13 binds with high selectivity and affinity to TRPV6, a calcium channel that is highly elevated in prostate, breast, lung and ovarian cancer and correlates with poor outcomes. TRPV6-mediated Ca²⁺ entry is responsible for maintaining a high tumour proliferation rate, as well as increasing tumour cell survival, promoting metastases and fortifying mechanisms that withstand cell destruction. By binding to this channel, SOR-C13 starves cancer cells of calcium that is needed for cell growth and division. Due to the high specificity of SOR-C13 for its target and its unique mechanism of action this drug candidate may result in fewer and less severe side effects compared to standard cancer chemotherapy. SOR-C13 is the first drug candidate targeting TRPV6 to have entered clinical development anywhere in the world.

About Soricimed Biopharma: Soricimed Biopharma Inc. is a private Canadian clinical-stage company developing novel cancer therapeutics and diagnostics. Soricimed's drug candidates have demonstrated a capability to reduce cancer cell viability, induce apoptosis and to reduce human tumour volume while minimizing side-effects in classic animal and in vitro tumour models. Soricimed recently announced positive results indicating safety, tolerability and potential activity in a Phase I trial of SOR-C13 in subjects with advanced solid tumour cancers. Additionally, Soricimed obtained two orphan drug statuses for treatment of ovarian and for pancreatic cancers with SOR-C13. Privately held, Soricimed is funded through private investors and various programs from the Governments of Canada and New Brunswick. For more information please visit, www.soricimed.com.