Kadmon Corporation’s KD025 Named A Top Priority Lupus Treatment Candidate By The Alliance For Lupus Research And The Lupus Research Institute

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - December 11, 2014) - Kadmon Corporation, LLC, today announced that KD025, the Company’s Phase 2, orally bioavailable, potent and highly selective inhibitor of ROCK2 (Rho-associated coiled-coiled kinase 2), was named among the highest-priority candidates for the treatment of lupus by the LRxL-STAT Lupus Drug Repositioning Initiative, a collaborative effort of the Alliance for Lupus Research (ALR) and the Lupus Research Institute (LRI). KD025’s selection as a top priority lupus drug in development was presented by Amrie Grammer, Ph.D., and Peter Lipsky, M.D., of biomedical consulting firm AMPEL BioSolutions, at the annual American College of Rheumatology meeting in November.

The LRxL-STAT Lupus Drug Repositioning Initiative seeks to accelerate scientific analysis and identification of potential new treatments for lupus. To this end, LRxL-STAT, in partnership with AMPEL BioSolutions, evaluated 157 potential lupus therapies, including KD025, using the CoLT, or Combined Lupus Treatment, scoring system. The evidence-based analysis identified five high-priority candidates representing the top treatments in each drug category: biologics, small molecules, cellular treatments, complementary and alternative therapies, and small molecules in development. KD025, which has demonstrated therapeutic potential in preclinical studies for treating lupus and other autoimmune diseases, was the top candidate in the category of small molecules in development. The newly-formed LRxL-STAT Lupus Clinical Investigators Network (LuCIN), comprised of over 50 academic lupus investigators across the United States, will conduct biomarker-rich proof-of-concept clinical trials of KD025, anticipated to begin in the second quarter of 2015.

“Current treatment options for lupus are limited, and there is an urgent need for new therapies,” said Peter Lipsky, M.D., ALR and LRI Scientific Advisor. “Selective ROCK2 inhibition by KD025 represents an important novel therapeutic approach for lupus, and we look forward to conducting trials of KD025 and other top priority treatment candidates as we work to quickly bring new lupus therapies to patients.”

“We are pleased that KD025, which has shown encouraging data in preclinical studies of lupus, has been recognized as a promising new candidate in the next generation of lupus treatments,” said John Ryan, M.D., Ph.D., Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Kadmon. “We are excited to support LuCIN’s research in lupus as we continue to advance our KD025 Phase 2 clinical program for other autoimmune diseases.”

About Kadmon Corporation
Kadmon Corporation, LLC, is a vertically integrated biopharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative products for significant unmet medical needs. We have a diversified product pipeline in oncology, autoimmune and fibrotic diseases, monogenic diseases and metabolic disease. For more information, visit www.kadmon.com.

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