VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 28, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WPD Pharmaceuticals Inc. (CSE: WBIO)(FSE: 8SV1) (the “Company” or “WPD”), a clinical stage pharmaceutical company, is pleased to announce that on May 21, 2020 Wake Forest University received a patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) for a patent titled “EphA3 and Multi-Valent Targeting of Tumors” (under application number 15/958,608). The patent is exclusively licensed to WPD, and the patent relates to the WPD101 drug candidate, used in the therapy of glioblastoma multiform (“GBM”). 

Mariusz Olejniczak, CEO of WPD commented, “We are very excited to receive another patent included in the license agreement with Wake Forest University. This patent covers EPHA3 and multi-valent targeting of tumors and provides an additional layer of protection for our IP in the development of drug candidate WPD101. It is especially helpful for the development of our glioma product but also for other tumor fighting drugs we are developing.”

Cancer cells, including GBM tumor cells that are highly resistant to all known therapies, express tumor specific receptors, IL-13RA2 and EphA2. WPD Pharmaceuticals’ patented solution is based on the use of therapy targeting IL-13RA2 and EphA2 receptors by genetically modified IL-13 and Ephrin1 proteins, conjugated to Pseudomonas and Diphtheria bacteria toxins. Recombinant IL-13 and Ephrin1 proteins armed with potent bacteria toxins preferentially bind to GBM tumor-specific receptors and deliver highly cytotoxic payload. This highly specific targeting of GBM cells should allow for selective elimination of tumor cells by bacteria-toxins-induced cytotoxic effects without affecting normal cells. In order to move to Phase 1 clinical trials in humans, WPD will need to finish the manufacturing for the development of the drug delivery formulation, expected to be completed within approximately one year.

Within the WP 101,102,103 portfolio of drug candidates, WPD and its licensors have 40 patents issued or filed in key territories including the US, Canada, and EU.

About WPD Pharmaceuticals  

WPD is a biotechnology research and development company with a focus on oncology, namely research and development of medicinal products involving biological compounds and small molecules.  WPD has 10 novel drug candidates with 4 that are in clinical development stage. These drug candidates were researched at institutions including the Mayo Clinic and Emory University, and WPD currently has ongoing collaborations with Wake Forest University and leading hospitals and academic centers in Poland.

WPD has entered into license agreements with Wake Forest University Health Sciences and with two U.S. based public companies, respectively, each of which grant WPD an exclusive, royalty-bearing sublicense to certain technologies of the licensor. Such agreements provide WPD with certain research, development, manufacturing and sales rights, among other things. The sublicense territory from the two public companies includes 31 countries in Europe and Asia, including Russia.

On Behalf of the Board

‘Mariusz Olejniczak’

Mariusz Olejniczak
CEO, WPD Pharmaceuticals  

Contact:

Investor Relations
Email: investors@wpdpharmaceuticals.com
Tel: 604-428-7050
Web: www.wpdpharmaceuticals.com

Cautionary Statements: 

Investors are cautioned that, except as disclosed in the Company’s CSE listing statement, prepared in accordance with the policies of the CSE, any information released or received with respect to the transaction may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon. Trading in the securities of the Company should be considered highly speculative.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This press release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that contemplate activities, events or developments that the Company anticipates will or may occur in the future.  Forward-looking statements in this press release include that WPD101’s specific targeting of GBM cells should allow for selective elimination of tumor cells by bacteria-toxins-induced cytotoxic effects without affecting normal cells; that the manufacturing for the development of the drug delivery formulation is expected to be completed within approximately one year which will allow us to start human clinical trials;  and that WPD’s drugs could be developed into novel treatments for cancer.  These forward-looking statements reflect the Company’s current expectations based on information currently available to management and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause outcomes to differ materially from those projected.  Factors which may prevent the forward looking statement from being realized is that competitors or others may successfully challenge a granted patent and the patent could be rendered void; that we are unable to raise sufficient funding for our research; that our drugs don’t provide positive treatment, or if they do, the side effects are damaging; competitors may develop better or cheaper drugs; and we may be unable to obtain regulatory approval for any drugs we develop. Readers should refer to the risk disclosure included from time-to-time in the documents the Company files on SEDAR, available at www.sedar.com. Although the Company believes that the assumptions inherent in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, they are not guarantees of future performance and, accordingly, they should not be relied upon and there can be no assurance that any of them will prove to be accurate.  Finally, these forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release and the Company assumes no obligation to update them except as required by applicable law.