EMERYVILLE, Calif., April 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Bionovo Inc. will present findings on the mechanism of action of two of its anti-cancer agents BN107 and BN108 at the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) being held at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, CA, April 12 - 16, 2008.
Bionovo’s poster presentation will describe the pathway for cancer cell apoptosis (cell death) induced by BN107 and BN108. As explained by Dr. Emma Shtivelman, Director of Cancer Research at Bionovo, the ability of BN107 to induce death cancer cell death is distinct from that of BN108. BN107 induces apoptosis through the mitochondrial pathway. BN107 induces death only in estrogen receptor negative breast cancer cells. BN108 induces cancer cell death by rapid inactivation of both AKT and mTOR pathways in breast cancer cells, but not in normal cells.
“BN107 and BN108 mechanisms of action and unique selective properties are a result of some of the biological differences between cancer cells and normal cells as well as cancer cells’ uniquely acquired functions,” said Dr. Isaac Cohen, President and CEO of Bionovo. “We believe both drugs will result in better tolerability and better toxicity profile than conventional chemotherapy due to better target selectivity. Oral administration will provide availability for chronic treatment and will mark these new targeted compounds as promising investigational drugs.”
Bionovo, Inc.
Bionovo is a pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of safe and effective treatments for women’s health and cancer, markets with significant unmet needs and billions in potential annual revenue. The company applies its expertise in the biology of menopause and cancer to design new drugs derived from botanical sources which have novel mechanisms of action. Based on the results of early and mid-stage clinical trials, Bionovo believes they have discovered new classes of drug candidates within their rich pipeline with the potential to be leaders in their markets. Bionovo is headquartered in Emeryville, California and is traded on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol, “BNVI”. For more information about Bionovo and its programs, visit: http://www.bionovo.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This release contains certain forward-looking statements relating to the business of Bionovo, Inc. that can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “believes,” “expects,” or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including uncertainties relating to product development, efficacy and safety, regulatory actions or delays, the ability to obtain or maintain patent or other proprietary intellectual property protection, market acceptance, physician acceptance, third party reimbursement, future capital requirements, competition in general and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from those described herein as anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Certain of these risks and uncertainties are or will be described in greater detail in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available at http://www.sec.gov. Bionovo, Inc. is under no obligation (and expressly disclaims any such obligation) to update or alter its forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
CONTACT: Investors, Lauren Glaser of The Trout Group, +1-415-392-3310,
lglaser@troutgroup.com; or Media, Tom Chesterman, +1-510-420-4189,
tchesterman@bionovo.com
Web site: http://www.bionovo.com//
