REDWOOD CITY, Calif., March 6, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OncoMed Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq:OMED), a clinical-stage company developing novel therapeutics that target cancer stem cells (CSCs), or tumor-initiating cells, today announced that it will provide an extensive update on its anti-cancer stem cell pipeline at the upcoming American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) meeting to be held April 5-9, 2014 in at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, CA.
"The nine presentations at the upcoming AACR meeting highlight the strength our research team's ongoing efforts to constantly advance our knowledge of cancer stem cell pathways, predictive biomarkers and anti-tumor activity for our growing pipeline of candidates," said Paul J. Hastings, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of OncoMed. "These data add to the increasing body of information for OncoMed's clinical-stage candidates and provide results from studies of OncoMed's most advanced preclinical candidates, a bispecific antibody that blocks DLL4 and VEGF signaling and an antibody that targets the RSPO-LGR cancer stem cell pathway."
The list of abstracts and timing of the presentations by OncoMed scientists is provided below.
| Oral Presentation |
| 1. "Using PDX Models for Anticancer Drug Screening" will be presented by Timothy Hoey, PhD, Senior Vice President, Cancer Biology. |
| Date and time: Saturday, April 5, 2014, 10:45 am – 11:10 am PT |
| Location: Room 25A-C |
| Session: Methods Workshop, "Applications of Patient Derived Xenograft Models to Translational Cancer Research" |
| Posters |
| 2. "NOTCH3 expression is predictive of efficacy in pancreas tumor models treated with OMP-59R5, a monoclonal antibody targeting the NOTCH2 and NOTCH3 receptors" (Abstract #910) will be presented by Belinda Cancilla, PhD, Director. |
| Date and time: Sunday, April 6, 2014, 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm PT |
| Location: Hall A-E |
| Poster Section 37: Predictive Biomarkers 1 |
| 3. "Dual targeting of DLL4 and VEGF signaling by a novel bispecific antibody inhibits tumor growth and reduces cancer stem cell frequency" (Abstract #207) will be presented by Wan-Ching Yen, PhD, Senior Scientist II. |
| Date and time: Sunday, April 6, 2014, 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm PT |
| Location: Hall A-E |
| Poster Section 8: Stem Cell Expansion and Anti-Cancer Stem Cell Targeting |
| 4. "Inhibition of R-spondin (RSPO) signaling reduces the growth of multiple human tumors" (Abstract #1764) will be presented by Austin Gurney, PhD, Senior Vice President, Molecular and Cellular Biology. |
| Date and time: Monday, April 7, 2014, 8:00 am – 12:00 pm PT |
| Location: Hall A-E |
| Poster Section 32: New Targets and Agents 1 |
| 5. "The combination of gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel and anti-DLL4 (demcizumab) produces synergistic growth inhibition, delays tumor recurrence and reduces tumor initiating cells in pancreatic cancer" (Abstract #1898) will be presented by Dr. Hoey. |
| Date and time: Monday, April 7, 2014, 8:00 am – 12:00 pm PT |
| Location: Hall A-E |
| Poster Section 37: New Diagnostics, Therapeutic Targeting, and Response Assessments |
| 6. "Wnt pathway antagonist OMP-54F28 (FZD8-Fc) inhibits tumor growth and reduces tumor-initiating cell frequency in patient-derived hepatocellular carcinoma and ovarian cancer xenograft models" (Abstract #1907) will be presented by Pete Yeung, Associate Scientist. |
| Date and time: Monday, April 7, 2014, 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm PT |
| Location: Hall A-E |
| Poster Section 1: Cancer Stem Cell Phenotype and Function 1 |
| 7. "Predictive biomarker identification for response to vantictumab (OMP-18R5; anti-Frizzled) by mining gene expression data of human breast cancer xenografts" (Abstract #2830) will be presented by Chun Zhang, PhD, Sr. Scientist II. |
| Date and time: Monday, April 7, 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm PT |
| Location: Hall A-E |
| Poster Section 37: Predictive Biomarkers 2 |
| 8. "OMP-59R5 (Anti-Notch2/3) inhibits tumor growth and reduces cancer stem cell frequency in patient derived SCLC xenografts" (Abstract #3048) will be presented by Marcus Fischer, Associate Scientist. |
| Date and time: Tuesday, April 8, 2014, 8:00 am – 12:00 pm PT |
| Location: Hall A-E |
| Poster Section 4: Cancer Stem Cell Phenotype and Function 2 |
| 9. "Enhanced anti-tumor effect of WNT pathway antagonists in combination with taxanes" (Abstract #4547) will be presented by Dr. Yen. |
| Date and time: Tuesday, April 8, 2014, 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm PT |
| Location: Hall A-E |
| Poster Section 31: Cell Cycle Mechanisms of Anticancer Drug Action |
About Cancer Stem Cells
Cancer stem cells, or CSCs, are the subpopulation of cells in a tumor responsible for driving growth and metastasis of the tumor. CSCs, also known as tumor-initiating cells, exhibit certain properties which include the capacity to divide and give rise to new CSCs via a process called self-renewal and the capacity to differentiate or change into the other cells that form the bulk of the tumor. Common cancer drugs target bulk tumor cells but have limited impact on CSCs, thereby providing a path for recurrence of the tumor. OncoMed's product candidates target CSCs by blocking self-renewal and driving differentiation of CSCs toward a non-tumorigenic state, and also impact bulk tumor cells. OncoMed believes its product candidates are distinct from the current generations of chemotherapies and targeted therapies, and have the potential to significantly impact cancer treatment and the clinical outcome of patients with cancer.
About OncoMed Pharmaceuticals
OncoMed Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage company focused on discovering and developing novel therapeutics targeting cancer stem cells. OncoMed has five anti-cancer product candidates in clinical development, including demcizumab (Anti- DLL4, OMP-21M18), OMP-59R5 (Anti-Notch2/3), OMP-52M51 (Anti-Notch1), vantictumab (Anti-Fzd7, OMP-18R5), and OMP-54F28 (Fzd8-Fc), which target key cancer stem cell signaling pathways including Notch and Wnt. OncoMed has two other antibodies in preclinical development, Anti-DLL4/Anti-VEGF bispecific and Anti-RSPO3, with Investigational New Drug filings planned for late 2014 or early 2015. OncoMed is also pursuing discovery of additional novel anti-CSC product candidates. OncoMed has formed strategic alliances with Celgene Corporation, Bayer Pharma AG and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). Additional information can be found at the company's website: www.oncomed.com.