VANCOUVER, Feb. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Chemokine Therapeutics Corp. (the Company) , a biotechnology company developing chemokine-based therapies to treat cancer, blood disorders, cardiovascular, and infectious diseases, today announced that it has entered into an agreement with The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center of Houston, Texas to study the Company’s lead anti-cancer compound, CTCE-9908, a chemokine CXCR4 antagonist. Oncologists at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center will study the benefits of CTCE-9908 in studies investigating the drug’s ability to inhibit the metastasis of a human breast cancer in preclinical models. In previous experimental studies, CTCE-9908 has been shown to reduce cancer metastases by a considerable 50-70%.
The CXCR4 receptor is present on most human tumors cells, including lung, breast, prostate, colon, ovarian, bone, brain, and skin cancer, and has been observed to contribute to invasion of cancer to distant sites from the primary tumor, a process known as metastasis. Leading cancer researchers have demonstrated that a high level of CXCR4 expression in cancer cells is correlated to tumor progression, high metastasis rate and low patient survival rate. The Company’s drug candidate CTCE-9908 targets the CXCR4 receptor and is part of a new generation of anti-cancer drug candidates that have the potential to both stop the spread of cancer (anti-metastasis) and slow the rate of cancer growth (anti-angiogenesis). Blockage of CXCR4 reduces the growth of tumors by reducing blood vessel growth (anti-angiogenesis) which carries vital nutrients to a tumor.
About M. D. Anderson Cancer Center
M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, a component of The University of Texas System, has established an international reputation as one of the world’s preeminent centers for cancer patient care, research, education and prevention. M. D. Anderson holds the distinction of being designated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) as one of the first three Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the United States. M. D. Anderson has been named the nation’s top cancer hospital by U.S. News and World Report’s “Best Hospitals” survey four out of the past six years. More than 70,000 cancer patients receive care at M. D. Anderson each year.
About Breast Cancer
Breast cancer is one of the two most common cancers among women, and the chance of developing invasive breast cancer at some time in a woman’s life is about 1 in 8. Women living in North America have the highest rate of breast cancer in the world. In order for cancers to grow, blood vessels must be formed to feed the cancer cells. Some studies have found that breast cancers with many new, small blood vessels are likely to spread more quickly.(1) New drugs such as CTCE-9908 may be useful in preventing breast cancer growth by stopping new blood vessels from forming and preventing the cancer from spreading.
About CTCE-9908
The Company has completed a Phase I, dose-escalation clinical trial using CTCE-9908 in healthy volunteers. The completed single dose Phase I clinical trial demonstrated CTCE-9908 to be safe and well tolerated by the study subjects. A Phase Ib/II clinical trial that is designed to demonstrate safety as well as to explore early signs of efficacy after repeat administration of CTCE-9908 in a late stage cancer setting is planned to launch during the first quarter of this year.
About Chemokine Therapeutics Corp.
Chemokine Therapeutics is a product-focused biotechnology company developing drugs that harness the therapeutic potential of stem cells through chemokine pathways. Chemokines are a class of proteins which signal biological responses from stem cells that play a critical role in the growth, differentiation and maturation of cells necessary for fighting infection, as well as tissue repair and regeneration. Stem cells are the master primitive cells that give rise to all of the cells and organs in the body. Chemokines are one of the major mediators of stem cell activity including stem cell growth, differentiation and maturation. Chemokine Therapeutics is a leader in research in this field. The Company has five products with two lead product candidates in clinical trials; CTCE-0214, for enhancing the immune system, and CTCE-9908, to prevent the spread of cancer and its continued growth. For more information, please visit its website at www.chemokine.net.
Safe Harbor Statement under the U. S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this document regarding managements’ future expectations, beliefs, goals, plans or prospects constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made. For this purpose, any statements that are contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Without limiting the foregoing, the words “believes”, “anticipates”, “plans”, “intends”, “will”, “should”, “expects”, “projects”, and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, future circumstances, or events to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. These risks include, but are not limited to, those associated with the success of research and development programs, the regulatory approval process, competition, securing and maintaining corporate alliances, market acceptance of the Company’s products, the availability of government and insurance reimbursements for the Company’s products, the strength of intellectual property, financing capability, the potential dilutive effects of any financing, reliance on subcontractors and key personnel and other risks detailed from time-to-time in the Company’s public disclosure documents and other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Canadian securities regulatory authorities. Forward- looking statements are made as of the date hereof, and the Company disclaims any intention and has no obligation or responsibility, except as required by law, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
----------------------------------------- (1) American Cancer Society www.cancer.org For further information contact: Corporate: Frederica Bell, Director, Investor Relations Chemokine Therapeutics Corp. (604) 827-3131 fbell@chemokine.net
Chemokine Therapeutics Corp.
CONTACT: Corporate: Frederica Bell, Director, Investor Relations,Chemokine Therapeutics Corp., (604) 827-3131, fbell@chemokine.net
