New York (N.Y.) – BeyondSpring Inc. (NASDAQ: BYSI), a global clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of innovative cancer therapies, announced today that the Company’s Chief Medical Officer and Head of Business Development, Dr. Ramon Mohanlal, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A., has been selected for presentation at the 2017 BIO International Convention, to be held in San Diego, California.
Dr. Mohanlal will provide an overview of the clinical programs with Plinabulin, BeyondSpring’s innovative lead asset, for neutropenia prevention and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treatment and the immune-oncology combination of Plinabulin with a leading checkpoint inhibitor. The presentation will be held at Company Presentation Theater Two in the San Diego Convention Center at 4:15 p.m. local time on Tuesday, June 20, 2017. BeyondSpring has advanced Plinabulin into a global Phase 3 clinical trial for NSCLC treatment and global Phase 2/3 clinical trials for neutropenia prevention.
“Partnering with pharma companies is core to our overall clinical development and commercialization strategy, and this meeting is a great opportunity to continue our ongoing discussions with global and regional pharma companies that have a good understanding of market access drivers in their respective territories,” said Dr. Mohanlal. “This would enable us to advance a larger number of clinical programs simultaneously and receive faster approval to bring them to the market. We look forward to continuing to pursue these opportunities as we advance Plinabulin and work toward achieving overall commercial success.”
Plinabulin, a novel small molecule that alters the tumor micro-environment and stimulates dendritic cell maturation and T-cell activation, has produced encouraging initial data regarding the mitigation of severe neutropenia, a common and potentially life-threatening adverse effect of Docetaxel. Plinabulin can be administered one hour after chemotherapy and has the potential to be a safe, cost-effective and convenient alternative to G-CSF, the current standard of care for chemotherapy-induced neutropenia, with less bone pain and a more favorable safety profile.
Plinabulin offers a same-day dosing advantage over G-CSF, which should be administered 24 hours after chemotherapy, per G-CSF label (next-day dosing), by which time significant damage to neutrophils has likely occurred. In addition, Plinabulin has demonstrated a reduction in clinical sequelae associated with Docetaxel-induced neutropenia, including infections, sepsis, hospitalizations and the need for Docetaxel dose reductions.
“BeyondSpring is pleased to present our initial clinical data with Plinabulin at BIO 2017 on efficacy and safety for the neutropenia and anti-cancer indications,” added Dr. Lan Huang, BeyondSpring CEO. “With the start of U.S. patient enrollment into our second pivotal trial, BeyondSpring’s Phase 2/3 study of Plinabulin, compared to G-CSF, for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced neutropenia, the team has demonstrated its commitment to providing groundbreaking treatments and transformative cancer care to patients globally.”
The 2017 BIO International Conference will take place on June 19 through 22 at the San Diego Convention Center in California.
About BeyondSpring
BeyondSpring is a global clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative immuno-oncology cancer therapies with a robust pipeline from internal development and from collaboration with Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and University of Washington. BeyondSpring’s lead asset, Plinabulin, is in a Phase 3 clinical trial as a direct anticancer agent in non-small cell lung cancer and Phase 2/3 clinical trials in the prevention of chemotherapy-induced neutropenia. BeyondSpring has a seasoned management team with many years of experience bringing drugs to market.
About Plinabulin
Studies on Plinabulin’s method of action indicate that Plinabulin activates GEF-H1, a guanine nucleotide exchange factor. GEF-H1 activates downstream transduction pathways leading to the activation of the protein c-Jun. Activated c-Jun enters the nucleus of dendritic cells to upregulate immune-related genes, which contributes to the up-regulation of a series of genes leading to dendritic cell maturation, T-cell activation and other effects that prevent neutropenia.
