LEIDEN, THE NETHERLANDS--(Marketwire - April 16, 2010) - OctoPlus N.V. ("OctoPlus" or the "Company") (Euronext: OCTO) announces that its licensee Biolex Therapeutics has presented yesterday, during the 45th International Liver Congress (EASL) in Austria, a late-breaker poster containing interim clinical results after 12 weeks of treatment with Locteron® from its EMPOWER Phase IIb clinical study.
This study comprised 133 patients from two Phase IIb clinical studies. In line with previous results, the interim data from EMPOWER confirm Locteron' superior product profile, consisting of the following benefits:
- Reduced injection frequency: every other week as opposed to the current standard of care which is administered every week
- Significant improvement in flu-like side effects: 50% reduction in flu-like events or more
- Maintained anti-viral efficacy in reducing the hepatitis C viral load.
Simon Sturge, CEO of OctoPlus, says: "These additional data provide compelling proof for Locteron's targeted benefits, which have been demonstrated consistently in over 175 patients to date. We are very excited about these results, which confirm our confidence in the potential of Locteron."
For detailed results we refer to Biolex' press release at www.biolex.com. The poster will be available on the website of OctoPlus shortly. Later today Biolex will give an oral presentation during the EASL conference.
About Locteron
Locteron is a controlled release formulation of interferon alpha for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C. Locteron combines OctoPlus' controlled release drug delivery technology PolyActive® with Biolex' interferon alpha and is the most advanced product in clinical development incorporating one of OctoPlus' proprietary drug delivery technologies. OctoPlus licensed its commercial rights to Locteron exclusively to Biolex in October 2008.
Locteron is an investigational therapeutic candidate and has not been approved for sale by the United States Food and Drug Administration or by any international regulatory agency.
About OctoPlus
OctoPlus is a drug delivery service company committed to the creation of improved pharmaceutical products that are based on OctoPlus' proprietary drug delivery technologies and have fewer side effects, improved patient convenience and a better efficacy/safety balance than existing therapies. OctoPlus focuses on the development of long-acting, controlled release versions of known protein therapeutics, other drugs, and vaccines on behalf of its clients.
The clinically most advanced product incorporating our technology is Biolex Therapeutics' lead product Locteron®, a controlled release formulation of interferon alpha for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C. OctoPlus licensed Locteron exclusively to Biolex in October 2008. Locteron is being manufactured for Biolex by OctoPlus and is currently in Phase IIb clinical studies.
In addition, OctoPlus is a leading European provider of advanced drug formulation and clinical scale manufacturing services to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, with a focus on difficult-to-formulate active pharmaceutical ingredients.
OctoPlus is listed on Euronext Amsterdam by NYSE Euronext under the symbol OCTO. For more information about OctoPlus, please visit our website www.octoplus.nl.
This document may contain certain forward-looking statements relating to the business, financial performance and results of OctoPlus and the industry in which it operates. These statements are based on OctoPlus' current plans, estimates and projections, as well as its expectations of external conditions and events. In particular the words "expect", "anticipate", "predict", "estimate", "project", "plan", "may", "should", "would", "will", "intend", "believe" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. We caution investors that a number of important factors, and the inherent risks and uncertainties that such statements involve, could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. In the event of any inconsistency between an English version and a Dutch version of this document, the English version will prevail over the Dutch version.
Click here for the press release in PDF: http://hugin.info/137076/R/1404338/358458.pdf
For further information, please contact:
Rianne Roukema, Corporate Communications: telephone number +31 (71) 524 1071, or send an e-mail to Investor Relations at IR@octoplus.nl.
