VANCOUVER, Washington, May 16, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CytoDyn Inc. (OTC.QB:CYDY), a biotechnology company focused on the development of new monoclonal antibody therapies for combating human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, announces that an abstract featuring clinical data from the Company’s PRO 140 monotherapy Phase 2b extension study in patients with HIV is now available online on the ASM Microbe 2016 website at: http://www.abstractsonline.com/pp8/#!/4060/presentation/16215.
Findings from the study will be discussed in an oral presentation entitled “PRO 140 SC Monotherapy Provides Long-term, Full Virologic Suppression in HIV Patients” by Paul J. Maddon, MD, PhD, at the ASM Microbe 2016 Conference on Monday, June 20, 2016, at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. The conference is being held at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.
“We are honored that not only ASM Microbe Conference has accepted our abstract and granted us an oral presentation spot, but has also selected our abstract for an ASM-sponsored press release to highlight our research to the journalists covering this Conference,” said Nader Pourhassan, PhD, the president and CEO of CytoDyn. “We believe that PRO 140 has great potential as an alternative or addition to current standard of care and is currently conducting two phase 3 trials for both of these populations.”
PRO 140 is a humanized monoclonal antibody that is being studied in HIV-infected patients as a standalone treatment and in combination with HAART therapy. It has shown to have potent antiviral activity in seven clinical trials with HIV patients infected with the R5 strain of HIV, which accounts for approximately 70% of infected Americans and up to 90% of those newly diagnosed. This Phase 2b study evaluated PRO 140 as a monotherapy in treatment-experienced patients with the R5 subtype of HIV was completed in January, 2015 and an extension of the study in certain responder patients is ongoing. In April 2016, CytoDyn announced that 10 HIV-infected patients in this ongoing extension study have achieved complete viral load suppression for at least 18 months, with several patients approaching 20 months. To date, PRO 140 has been evaluated in more than 200 subjects in various studies.
About ASM Microbe 2016 Conference
ASM Microbe 2016 is the merger of the American Society for Microbiology’s two premier events, the ASM General Meeting and ICAAC (Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy). This year’s event is expected to attract more than 10,000 attendees to gain valuable insights from the field's foremost leaders, interact with multi-disciplinary microbiologists, and meet leading product and service providers. The 2016 conference website is located at: http://asmmicrobe.org/.
About PRO 140
PRO 140 belongs to a new class of HIV/AIDS therapeutics – viral-entry inhibitors – that are intended to protect healthy cells from viral infection. PRO 140 is a fully humanized IgG4 monoclonal antibody directed against CCR5, a molecular portal that HIV uses to enter T-cells. PRO 140 blocks the predominant HIV (R5) subtype entry into T-cells by masking this required co-receptor, CCR5. Importantly, PRO 140 does not appear to interfere with the normal function of CCR5 in mediating immune responses. PRO 140 does not have agonist activity toward CCR5 but does have antagonist activity to CCL5, which is a central mediator in inflammatory diseases. PRO 140 has been the subject of seven clinical trials, each demonstrating efficacy by significantly reducing or controlling HIV viral load in human test subjects. PRO 140 has been designated a “fast track” product candidate by the FDA. The PRO 140 antibody appears to be a powerful antiviral agent leading to potentially fewer side effects and less frequent dosing requirements as compared to daily drug therapies currently in use.
About CytoDyn
CytoDyn is a biotechnology company focused on the clinical development and potential commercialization of humanized monoclonal antibodies for the treatment and prevention of HIV infection. The Company has one of the leading monoclonal antibodies under development for HIV infection, PRO 140, which has finished Phase 2 clinical trials with demonstrated antiviral activity in man and is currently in Phase 3. PRO 140 blocks the HIV co-receptor CCR5 on T cells, which prevents viral entry. Clinical trial results thus far indicate that PRO 140 does not negatively affect the normal immune functions that are mediated by CCR5. Results from six Phase 1 and Phase 2 human clinical trials have shown that PRO 140 can significantly reduce viral burden in people infected with HIV. A recent Phase 2b clinical trial demonstrated that PRO 140 can prevent viral escape in patients during several weeks of interruption from conventional drug therapy. CytoDyn intends to continue to develop PRO 140 as a therapeutic anti-viral agent in persons infected with HIV and to pursue non-HIV indications where CCR5 and its ligand CCL5 may be involved. For more information on the Company, please visit www.cytodyn.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of United States securities laws, including statements regarding CytoDyn’s Phase 3 and other current and proposed trials and studies and their results and completion. These statements and information represent CytoDyn’s intentions, plans, expectations, and beliefs and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, many beyond CytoDyn’s control. These factors could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements or information. The words “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “attempt,” “anticipate,” “foresee,” “plan,” and similar expressions and variations thereof identify certain of such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, which speak only as of the date on which they are made.
CytoDyn disclaims any intention or obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. While it is impossible to identify or predict all such matters, these differences may result from, among other things, the inherent uncertainty of the timing and success of and expense associated with research, development, regulatory approval, and commercialization of CytoDyn’s products and product candidates, including the risks that clinical trials will not commence or proceed as planned; products appearing promising in early trials will not demonstrate efficacy or safety in larger-scale trials; future clinical trial data on CytoDyn’s products and product candidates will be unfavorable; funding for additional clinical trials may not be available; CytoDyn’s products may not receive marketing approval from regulators or, if approved, may fail to gain sufficient market acceptance to justify development and commercialization costs; competing products currently on the market or in development may reduce the commercial potential of CytoDyn’s products; CytoDyn, its collaborators or others may identify side effects after the product is on the market; or efficacy or safety concerns regarding marketed products, whether or not scientifically justified, may lead to product recalls, withdrawals of marketing approval, reformulation of the product, additional pre-clinical testing or clinical trials, changes in labeling of the product, the need for additional marketing applications, or other adverse events.
CytoDyn is also subject to additional risks and uncertainties, including risks associated with the actions of its corporate, academic, and other collaborators and government regulatory agencies; risks from market forces and trends; potential product liability; intellectual property litigation; environmental and other risks; and risks that current and pending patent protection for its products may be invalid, unenforceable, or challenged or fail to provide adequate market exclusivity. There are also substantial risks arising out of CytoDyn’s need to raise additional capital to develop its products and satisfy its financial obligations; the highly regulated nature of its business, including government cost-containment initiatives and restrictions on third-party payments for its products; the highly competitive nature of its industry; and other factors set forth in CytoDyn’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2015 and other reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.