Full Press Release Details
ASX/Media Release (Code: ASX: PRR; NASDAQ: PBMD)
PRIMA BIOMED ENTERS NEW MATERIAL
TRANSFER AGREEMENT WITH CYTLIMIC
AUSTRALIA Prima BioMed Ltd (ASX: PRR; NASDAQ: PBMD), a leading immuno-oncology company, today announced that it has entered into a new collaboration agreement with Japan s CYTLIMIC, a recent spin off from NEC Corporation (NEC), to
test a cancer peptide vaccine in combination with IMP321.
Under the new Material Transfer Agreement (MTA) Prima will provide IMP321 for a formulation
development targeting a new pre-clinical and clinical development study to be conducted by CYTLIMIC. The development will be funded by CYTLIMIC and the MTA will be revenue generating for Prima.
Prima s Chief Medical Officer, Dr Fr d ric Triebel, said: When IMP321 is used as an adjuvant to a cancer vaccine to boost
tumour-specific CD8 T cells, it is used at a very low dose to get a local effect at the vaccine injection site. The use of IMP321 as an adjuvant to a vaccine is therefore different from Prima s other combination approaches where higher
doses are used to boost Antigen Presenting Cells (APCs) in the whole body. It is very encouraging that CYTLIMIC has committed further resources to this exciting research, based on several positive published studies using IMP321 as an adjuvant to
CYTLIMIC s President and Chief Executive Officer, Dr Shun Doi, said: I am pleased with the progress to enter into
this collaboration with Prima BioMed, which follows the successful research collaboration among NEC Corporation, Yamaguchi University and Prima BioMed, to realize an innovative peptide vaccine for cancer immunotherapy.
In May 2015 Prima entered into a collaboration agreement with NEC to supply IMP321 for a pre-clinical study investigating IMP321 in combination with a
therapeutic vaccine for different carcinoma types, to be developed at Yamaguchi University. Pre-clinical work demonstrated that low dose IMP321 co-injected with a peptide vaccine is safe. This resulted in a decision to progress to clinical
development and now the foundation of CYTLIMIC by NEC, together with leading Japan-based venture capital firms.
CYTLIMIC, a recent spin off from NEC Corporation (NEC), is a biotechnology company developing immunotherapy products for the treatment of cancer, including a
cancer peptide vaccine in combination with IMP321. CYTLIMIC s products aim to activate immune systems to attack cancer cells while enabling patients to maintain a high quality-of-life during treatment.
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IMP321, a first-in-class Antigen Presenting Cell (APC) activator based on the immune checkpoint LAG-3, represents one
of the first proposed active immunotherapy drugs in which the patient s own immune system is harnessed to respond to tumour antigenic debris created by chemotherapy. As an APC activator IMP321 boosts the network of dendritic cells in the body
that can respond to tumour antigens for a better anti-tumour CD8 T cell response.
Prima BioMed is a globally active biotechnology company that is striving to become a leader in the development of immunotherapeutic products for the treatment
of cancer. Prima BioMed is dedicated to leveraging its technology and expertise to bring innovative treatment options to market for patients and to maximise value to shareholders.
Prima s current lead product is IMP321, based on the LAG-3 immune control mechanism which plays a vital role in
the regulation of the T cell immune response. IMP321, which is a soluble LAG-3Ig fusion protein, is an APC activator boosting T cell responses. IMP321 is currently in a Phase IIb clinical trial
as a chemo-immunotherapy for metastatic breast cancer termed AIPAC (clinicaltrials.gov identifier NCT 02614833) and in a Phase I combination therapy trial in metastatic melanoma termed TACTI-mel (clinicaltrials.gov identifier
NCT 02676869). Additional LAG-3 products including antibodies for immune response modulation in autoimmunity and cancer are being developed by Prima s large pharmaceutical partners. Prima is
also developing an agonist of LAG-3 (IMP761) for autoimmune disease.
Prima BioMed is listed on the Australian
Securities Exchange, and on the NASDAQ in the US. For further information please visit www.primabiomed.com.au.
For further information please
Mr Matthew Gregorowski, Citadel-MAGNUS
+61 (2) 8234 0100; mgregorowski@citadelmagnus.com
Matthew Beck, The Trout Group LLC
+1 (646) 378-2933; mbeck@troutgroup.com
Prima BioMed Ltd, Level 12, 95 Pitt Street, Sydney NSW 2000
Phone: +61 2 8315 7003 Fax: +61 2 8569 1880
www.primabiomed.com.au ABN: 90 009 237 889