Immunomedics Announces New Patent Covering the Use of Antibody-SN-38 Conjugates Combination


MORRIS PLAINS, N.J., Jan. 05, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Immunomedics, Inc., (Nasdaq:IMMU) today announced the issuance of U.S. patent no. 9,226,973 for additional claims under the patent family “Dosages of immunoconjugates of antibodies and SN-38 for improved efficacy and decreased toxicity.” The allowed claims under the new patent, which will expire in July 2033, cover the use of labetuzumab govitecan (IMMU-130), an anti-CEACAM5-SN-38 conjugate, either alone or in combination with an anti-CEACAM6-SN-38 conjugate, for the treatment of cancer.

“This is a key patent for our antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) programs, which broadens the protection to include the combination of our ADCs,” commented Cynthia L. Sullivan, President and Chief Executive Officer. “For labetuzumab govitecan, our second ADC, we are encouraged by the results from a Phase 2 study, and are working with the FDA for a Phase 3 trial design in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.”

In a Phase 2 study, 33 patients with metastatic colorectal cancer who had failed multiple prior therapies, including irinotecan, reported an interim median progression-free survival of 4.4 months after being treated with labetuzumab govitecan, as a monotherapy, once a week at the 8 or 10 mg/kg dose levels for the first two weeks of a 3-week cycle. The Phase 2 study has enrolled over 80 patients with relapsed/refractory, metastatic colorectal cancers. Final survival data are not yet mature.

About Immunomedics
Immunomedics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing monoclonal antibody-based products for the targeted treatment of cancer, autoimmune disorders and other serious diseases. Immunomedics’ advanced proprietary technologies allow the Company to create humanized antibodies that can be used either alone in unlabeled or “naked” form, or conjugated with radioactive isotopes, chemotherapeutics, cytokines or toxins. Using these technologies, Immunomedics has built a pipeline of nine clinical-stage product candidates. Immunomedics’ most advanced candidate is 90Y-clivatuzumab tetraxetan. The radiolabeled antibody is in a Phase 3 registration trial in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. Immunomedics expects patient enrollment to be completed in calendar year 2016. Immunomedics’ portfolio of investigational products also includes antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) that are designed to deliver a specific payload of a chemotherapeutic directly to the tumor while reducing overall toxic effects that are usually found with conventional administration of these chemotherapeutic agents. Immunomedics’ most advanced ADCs are sacituzumab govitecan (IMMU-132) and labetuzumab govitecan (IMMU-130), which are in Phase 2 trials for a number of solid tumors and metastatic colorectal cancer, respectively. Immunomedics has a research collaboration with Bayer to study epratuzumab as a thorium-227-labeled antibody. Immunomedics has other ongoing collaborations in oncology with independent cancer study groups. The IntreALL Inter-European study group is conducting a large, randomized Phase 3 trial combining epratuzumab with chemotherapy in children with relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukemia at clinical sites in Australia, Europe, and Israel. Immunomedics also has a number of other product candidates that target solid tumors and hematologic malignancies, as well as other diseases, in various stages of clinical and preclinical development. These include bispecific antibodies targeting cancers and infectious diseases as T-cell redirecting immunotherapies, as well as bispecific antibodies for next-generation cancer and autoimmune disease therapies, created using its patented DOCK-AND-LOCK® protein conjugation technology. The Company believes that its portfolio of intellectual property, which includes approximately 278 active patents in the United States and more than 400 foreign patents, protects its product candidates and technologies. For additional information on the Company, please visit its website at www.immunomedics.com. The information on its website does not, however, form a part of this press release.

This release, in addition to historical information, may contain forward-looking statements made pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements, including statements regarding clinical trials (including the funding therefor, outcomes, timing or associated costs), out-licensing arrangements (including the timing and amount of contingent payments), forecasts of future operating results, potential collaborations, and capital raising activities, involve significant risks and uncertainties and actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied herein. Factors that could cause such differences include, but are not limited to, new product development (including clinical trials outcome and regulatory requirements/actions), the Company’s dependence on business collaborations in order to further develop our products and finance our operations, the risk that we or any of our collaborators may be unable to secure regulatory approval of and market our drug candidates, risks associated with the outcome of pending litigation and competitive risks to marketed products, and availability of required financing and other sources of funds on acceptable terms, if at all, as well as the risks discussed in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company is not under any obligation, and the Company expressly disclaims any obligation, to update or alter any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.


            

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