Contact Information: Contact: Rachel Levine Director Corporate Development & Communications Cleveland BioLabs, Inc. T: (646) 284-9439 E: rlevine@cbiolabs.com
Oncogene Publishes Cleveland BioLabs Paper on Mechanism of Action of Curaxins
Newly Discovered Properties Further Support Potential as New Anticancer Drugs
| Source: Cleveland BioLabs, Inc.
BUFFALO, NY--(Marketwire - May 18, 2009) - Cleveland BioLabs, Inc. (NASDAQ : CBLI ) today
announced that new insights into the mechanism of action of the Company's
first generation Curaxin anticancer compounds were published in one of the
world's leading cancer journals, Oncogene (Guo et al., Oncogene, 2009,
28:1151-1161).
The published study uncovered additional molecular mechanisms underlying
the anticancer activity of the Company's prototype Curaxin (CBLC102, or
quinacrine), which was previously known to involve simultaneous targeting
of two key regulators of the controlled cell death process (p53 and
NF-kappaB). It has now been shown that treatment of cancer cells with
CBLC102 results in the inhibition of the molecular pathway (PI3K/Akt/mTOR)
that is important for cancer cell survival and is considered to be a highly
relevant anticancer treatment target.
Cleveland BioLabs Chief Scientific Officer and co-corresponding author,
Andrei Gudkov, Ph.D., D. Sci., commented, "The inhibition of mTOR activity
we found with Curaxin CBLC102 is also exhibited by a recently FDA approved
cancer drug, temsirolimus, which showed efficacy against late stage renal
cell carcinoma. While inhibition of mTOR is important, Curaxin compounds
also combine this with other powerful mechanisms of anticancer activity.
Simultaneous targeting of several molecular pathways, which are critically
important for cancer development and progression, is a unique property of
Curaxins. This attribute makes them very promising drug candidates that
may be effective against a wide spectrum of human malignancies and reduces
the risk of development of tumor resistance to this class of compounds. We
are strongly encouraged by these results and believe that they further
support the potential of our lead next generation Curaxin compound,
CBLC137."
About Cleveland BioLabs, Inc.
Cleveland BioLabs, Inc. is a drug discovery and development company
leveraging its proprietary discoveries around programmed cell death to
develop treatments for cancer and protection of normal tissues from
exposure to radiation and other stresses. The Company has strategic
partnerships with the Cleveland Clinic, Roswell Park Cancer Institute,
ChemBridge Corporation and the Armed Forces Radiobiology Research
Institute. To learn more about Cleveland BioLabs, Inc., please visit the
company's website at http://www.cbiolabs.com.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning
of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking
statements reflect management's current expectations, as of the date of
this press release, and involve certain risks and uncertainties. The
Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in
these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. Some of
the factors that could cause future results to materially differ from the
recent results or those projected in forward-looking statements include the
"Risk Factors" described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 30, 2009.