Tarveda To Present PEN-221 Data In Small Cell Lung Cancer Models At 2017 AACR Annual Meeting

WATERTOWN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Tarveda Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company discovering and developing Pentarins™ as a new class of potent and selective cancer medicines, today announced that the company will present preclinical data on the discovery of PEN-221 with efficacy in multiple SSTR2 expressing models at the 2017 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting, occurring April 1-5 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington D.C.

“Discovery of PEN-221, an SSTR2-targeting maytansinoid conjugate with potent activity in vitro and in vivo”

Dr. Brian White, PhD, will present a poster entitled “Discovery of PEN-221, an SSTR2-targeting maytansinoid conjugate with potent activity in vitro and in vivo” as part of the Experimental and Molecular Therapeutics session from 1pm to 5pm EDT on Sunday, April 2^nd 2017.

“The presentation by Dr. White at AACR highlights the innovative design of the PEN-221 chemistry and the optimized properties of this Pentarin, which is tailored to leverage the miniature size of the Pentarins and overcome the challenges of larger antibody drug conjugates in cancer treatment. ADC efficacy is hindered by slow and limited penetration in solid tumors and payload dissociation in circulation,” said Richard Wooster, PhD, President R&D and CSO. “These data demonstrate that PEN-221 is selective for SSTR2 with an optimized linker for the release of the therapeutic payload in xenograft tumor tissue to drive complete, durable regressions across a range of cancer models that express SSTR2. PEN-221 is the first of our Pentarins, potent and selective miniaturized conjugates, to enter clinical trials, and we now look forward to the data from the ongoing Phase 1 study of PEN-221.”

About Pentarins™

Tarveda is developing Pentarins, potent and selective miniaturized drug conjugates with high affinity for specific cell surface and intracellular targets. Pentarins are engineered to bind to their tumor cell targets and provide sustained release of their potent therapeutic payloads deep into solid tumor tissue. Comprised of a targeting ligand conjugated to a potent cell-killing agent through an optimized chemical linker, Pentarins are designed to overcome the deficits of both larger antibody drug conjugates and small molecules that limit their therapeutic effectiveness against solid tumors. Together, the components of Tarveda’s Pentarins have distinct, yet synergistic, anticancer attributes: the small size of Pentarins allows for effective penetration and distribution into the tumor tissue, the ligand’s targeting ability allows for specific binding and retention in tumor cells, and the chemical linker is tuned to optimize the release of the potent, cell-killing payload inside the cancer cells for efficacy.

About Tarveda Therapeutics

Tarveda Therapeutics, Inc. discovers and develops Pentarins™, a new class of potent and selective miniaturized drug conjugates with enhanced targeting capabilities for the treatment of solid cancer tumors. Tarveda’s lead Pentarin drug candidate, PEN-221, is a miniaturized drug conjugate that targets the somatostatin receptor 2 (SSTR2) for treatment of patients with neuroendocrine and small cell lung cancers. PEN-221 comprises a highly selective peptide that targets SSTR2 linked to the potent cytotoxic DM1 through a cleavable linker. Tarveda is also advancing its HSP90 drug conjugate platform with lead drug candidate PEN 866, which is a miniaturized HSP90 targeting drug conjugate that comprises a small molecule HSP90 targeting ligand conjugated to SN 38, the highly potent, active metabolite of irinotecan. Tarveda’s strategy includes developing its own proprietary Pentarins as well as applying the Pentarin platform to enhance the effectiveness of the targeting moieties and novel payloads of its pharmaceutical collaborators. www.tarveda.com