ROCKVILLE, Md., June 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- EntreMed, Inc. (Nasdaq: ENMD), a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company developing therapeutics for the treatment of cancer, today announced that Selected Value Therapeutics I, LLC (SVT) has exercised its right to acquire an exclusive license to develop and commercialize EntreMed’s Phase 2 oncology drug candidate, ENMD-2076, in China and certain of its territories. EntreMed retains development and commercialization rights to ENMD-2076 in the rest of the world.
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The exercise is pursuant to an agreement between EntreMed and SVT dated as of September 7, 2010, which provided SVT with an option to acquire certain license, development and commercialization rights for ENMD-2076 in China and certain of its territories. The parties will begin negotiations of the license agreement, in accordance with the terms and conditions set forth in the 2010 agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, EntreMed is entitled to certain development milestone payments, as well as royalties on future product sales within the geographic market. SVT will be responsible for all clinical development and regulatory costs related to regulatory approval in the China territory.
John Xu, SVT President, commented, “We are pleased to be in a position to advance ENMD-2076 into clinical development in China. The data demonstrate the therapeutic activity of ENMD-2076 in a variety of indications and SVT is enthusiastic to be an integral part of the development of this exciting compound.”
Michael M. Tarnow, EntreMed’s Executive Chairman, commented on the transaction, “ENMD-2076 has shown activity in a number of cancers, most recently encouraging data from our Phase 2 study in ovarian cancer patients presented at the 2011 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting. SVT’s option exercise is an important milestone for the ENMD-2076 program and for EntreMed. We are pleased with SVT’s commitment and confidence in ENMD-2076’s potential. We look forward to working with SVT as the development of ENMD-2076 progresses in China and we work to determine the design of future clinical trials.”
About ENMD-2076
ENMD-2076 is an orally-active, Aurora A/angiogenic kinase inhibitor with a unique kinase selectivity profile and multiple mechanisms of action. ENMD-2076 has been shown to inhibit a distinct profile of angiogenic tyrosine kinase targets in addition to the Aurora A kinase. Aurora kinases are key regulators of mitosis (cell division), and are often over-expressed in human cancers. ENMD-2076 also targets the VEGFR, Flt-3 and FGFR3 kinases which have been shown to play important roles in the pathology of several cancers. ENMD-2076 has shown promising activity in Phase I clinical trials in solid tumor cancers, leukemia, and multiple myeloma. ENMD-2076 is currently in a Phase 2 trial for ovarian cancer, and preclinical and clinical activities are ongoing in assessing the compound’s applicability for other forms of cancer.
About EntreMed
EntreMed, Inc. is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company committed to developing ENMD-2076, a selective angiogenic kinase inhibitor, for the treatment of cancer. ENMD-2076 is currently in a multi-center Phase 2 study in ovarian cancer and in several Phase 1 studies in solid tumors, multiple myeloma, and leukemia. Additional information about EntreMed is available on the Company’s web site at www.entremed.com and in various filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC).
Forward Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act with respect to the outlook for expectations for future financial or business performance, strategies, expectations and goals. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties, which change over time. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and no duty to update forward-looking statements is assumed.
Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors, including: the risk that we may be unable to continue as a going concern as a result of our inability to raise sufficient capital for our operational needs; our reliance on a single product candidate, ENMD-2076; the volatility of our common stock; our history of losses and expectation of incurring continued losses; risks relating to the need for additional capital and the uncertainty of securing additional funding on favorable terms; the failure to consummate a transaction to monetize our Thalomid® royalty stream for any reason, including our inability to obtain the required third-party consents; our dependence on a royalty sharing agreement based on sales of a product, Thalomid®, that we do not have control; declines in actual sales of Thalomid® resulting in materially reduced royalty payments; risks associated with our product candidates; results in preclinical models that are not necessarily indicative of clinical results; uncertainties relating to preclinical and clinical trials, including delays to the commencement of such trials; any lack of progress of our research and development (including the results of our clinical trials); dependence on third parties; risks relating to the commercialization, if any, of our proposed products (such as marketing, safety, regulatory, patent, product liability, supply and other risks); and our ability to compete with larger, better financed biotechnology companies that may develop new approaches to the treatment of our targeted diseases. Additional information about the factors and risks that could affect our business, financial condition and results of operations, are contained in our filings with the SEC, which are available at www.sec.gov.
CONTACT:
Ginny Dunn
Associate Director, Corporate Communications & Investor Relations
EntreMed, Inc.
240.864.2643
SOURCE EntreMed, Inc.
