TARRYTOWN, N.Y., May 30, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:PGNX), an oncology company that is developing innovative approaches to targeting and treating prostate cancer, announced today that results from its phase 2 trial of PSMA ADC have been chosen to be included in the genitourinary (prostate) cancer poster highlights session at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology being held in Chicago, Illinois on May 30 – June 3. These data update previously presented results from a study of 83 patients with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer who suffered from progressive disease despite treatment with at least one taxane-containing chemotherapy.
Daniel Petrylak, M.D., Professor of Medical Oncology at Yale Cancer Center and a lead investigator in the trial, will present the poster, "A phase 2 trial of prostate specific membrane antigen antibody drug conjugate (PSMA ADC) in taxane-treated metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC)." The highlights session will be held on Saturday, May 31, beginning at 1:15 p.m. CT.
About PSMA ADC
PSMA ADC is a fully human monoclonal antibody-drug conjugate designed to deliver chemotherapeutic drug selectively to prostate cancer cells. It does so by targeting the three-dimensional structure of prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA), a protein that is a clinically validated biomarker of prostate cancer and which is expressed on the surface of prostate cancer cells. The PSMA antibody is linked to monomethyl auristatin E, a chemotherapeutic drug that inhibits cell proliferation by disrupting the cellular "backbone" required for replication. The resultant antibody-drug conjugate attaches to the PSMA protein on the surface of prostate cancer cells and is designed to internalize into the cancer cell, release active anti-cancer drug, and destroy the malignant cell.
About Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer is the second most common form of cancer affecting men in the United States: An estimated one in seven will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in his lifetime. The National Cancer Institute estimates that in 2014 approximately 233,000 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed and nearly 30,000 men will die of this disease. According to the American Cancer Society, more than 2.5 million men alive in the U.S. today have at some point been diagnosed with prostate cancer.
About Progenics
Progenics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is developing innovative medicines for oncology, with a pipeline that includes several product candidates in late-stage clinical development. Progenics' first-in-class PSMA targeted technology platform includes an antibody-drug conjugate therapeutic in a phase 2 clinical trial and a small molecule targeted imaging agent that has just completed a phase 2 trial. Among other assets in its pipeline of targeted radiotherapy and molecular imaging compounds is Azedra™, an ultra-orphan radiotherapy candidate also in a phase 2 study under an SPA. Progenics' first commercial product, Relistor® (methylnaltrexone bromide) for opioid-induced constipation, is partnered with and marketed by Salix Pharmaceuticals, Inc. For additional information, please visit www.progenics.com.
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