BOSTON and GERMANTOWN, Md., Oct. 17, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc. (Nasdaq:ZIOP), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of new cancer therapies, and Intrexon Corporation (NYSE:XON), a leader in synthetic biology, today announced scheduled poster presentations at the 2013 AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, which is taking place October 19-23, 2013 in Boston. The conference is a joint meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, the National Cancer Institute and the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer. The presentations will highlight studies conducted jointly between ZIOPHARM and Intrexon as part of an Exclusive Channel Collaboration to research, develop and commercialize novel in vivo DNA- and cell-based oncology therapeutics using different approaches, regulated by Intrexon's proprietary RheoSwitch Therapeutic System® (RTS®) platform.
The studies concern ZIOPHARM's lead therapeutic program, a monogenic system which enables the controlled delivery of therapeutic interleukin-12 (IL-12), in a glioma (brain tumor) model, as well as pipeline programs exploring: embedded cellular bioreactors capable of expressing three distinct immune effectors from a single RTS® gene switch; the use of mesenchymal stem cells for tumor targeted delivery of single or multiple regulated cancer immunotherapies; and the expression of high affinity single chain variable fragment-Fc (scFv-Fc) antibodies with target specificities based on trastuzumab (anti-Her2) and cetuximab (anti-EGFR) for gene therapy applications. ZIOPHARM expects to file multiple investigational new drug (IND) applications in 2014 and 2015 to begin exploring new targets in the clinic using technologies such as these.
The findings will be presented on Oct. 21 and 22, 2013. Specific times and locations are noted below.
| Title: Pharmacodynamics and Functionality of RheoSwitch® Regulated Immunomodulatory Proteins, Expressed from a Multigenic Embedded Cellular Bioreactor Following Intramuscular Electroporation in Mice |
| Abstract #: B127 |
| Date and Time: Monday, Oct 21, 2013 12:30 PM - 3:00 PM |
| Session: Poster Session B; Gene Therapies |
| Location: Exhibit Hall C-D |
| Title: The Controlled Local Expression of IL-12 as an Immunotherapeutic Treatment of Glioma Through the use of the RheoSwitch Therapeutic System® (RTS®) Platform |
| Abstract #: B298 |
| Date and Time: Monday, Oct 21, 2013 12:30 PM - 3:00 PM |
| Session: Poster Session B; Tumor Immunology Targets |
| Location: Exhibit Hall C-D |
| Title: Integration of a Modularized Protein Engineering Technology and the RheoSwitch Therapeutic System® Platform to Develop High Affinity Trastuzumab Single Chain Variable Fragment-Fc Proteins for Gene Therapy Applications |
| Abstract #: B247 |
| Date and Time: Monday, Oct 21, 2013 12:30 PM - 3:00 PM |
| Session: Poster Session B; Therapeutic Agents: Biological 2 |
| Location: Exhibit Hall C-D |
| Title: Regulated Immunomodulators Expression Using the RheoSwitch Therapeutic System® Platform in Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells |
| Abstract #: C234 |
| Date and Time: Tuesday, Oct 22, 2013 12:30 PM - 3:00 PM |
| Session: Poster Session C; Therapeutic Agents: Biological 3 |
| Location: Exhibit Hall C-D |
About ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc.:
ZIOPHARM Oncology is a Boston, Massachusetts-based biotechnology company employing novel gene expression and control technology to deliver DNA for the treatment of cancer. ZIOPHARM's technology platform employs Intrexon Corporation's RheoSwitch Therapeutic System® to turn on and off, and precisely modulate, gene expression at the cancer site in order to improve the therapeutic index. This technology is currently being evaluated in Phase 2 clinical studies of the immune system cytokine interleukin-12 for the treatment of breast cancer and advanced melanoma. Multiple new INDs for new targets using similar technology are expected in 2014 and 2015. ZIOPHARM is also developing novel small molecules as potential cancer therapeutics.
About Intrexon Corporation
Intrexon Corporation (NYSE:XON) is a leader in synthetic biology focused on collaborating with companies in Health, Food, Energy and the Environment to create biologically-based products that improve the quality of life and the health of the planet. Through the company's proprietary UltraVector® platform, Intrexon provides its partners with industrial-scale design and development of complex biological systems. The UltraVector® platform delivers unprecedented control over the quality, function, and performance of living cells. We call our synthetic biology approach and integrated technologies Better DNA®, and we invite you to discover more at www.dna.com.
Forward-Looking Safe Harbor Statement:
This press release contains certain forward-looking information about ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc. that is intended to be covered by the safe harbor for "forward-looking statements" provided by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. Words such as "expect(s)," "feel(s)," "believe(s)," "will," "may," "anticipate(s)" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our ability to successfully develop and commercialize our therapeutic products; our ability to expand our long-term business opportunities; financial projections and estimates and their underlying assumptions; and future performance. All of such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of the Company, that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied or projected by, the forward-looking information and statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: whether palifosfamide, Ad-RTS-IL-12, darinaparsin, indibulin, or any of our other therapeutic products will advance further in the clinical trials process and whether and when, if at all, they will receive final approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or equivalent foreign regulatory agencies and for which indications; whether palifosfamide, Ad-RTS-IL-12, darinaparsin, indibulin, and our other therapeutic products will be successfully marketed if approved; whether any of our other therapeutic product discovery and development efforts will be successful; our ability to achieve the results contemplated by our collaboration agreements; the strength and enforceability of our intellectual property rights; competition from other pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies; the development of, and our ability to take advantage of, the market for our therapeutic products; our ability to raise additional capital to fund our operations on terms acceptable to us; general economic conditions; and the other risk factors contained in our periodic and interim SEC reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to, our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012, and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2013. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements that speak only as of the date hereof, and we do not undertake any obligation to revise and disseminate forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof, or to reflect the occurrence of or non-occurrence of any events.
Trademarks
RheoSwitch Therapeutic System® (RTS®) and UltraVector® are registered trademarks of Intrexon Corporation.