NEW YORK, March 14, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BeyondSpring Inc. (NASDAQ:BYSI), a global clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of innovative cancer therapies, today announced that the Company’s clinical trial data for its innovative lead asset, Plinabulin, for Neutropenia prevention and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treatment has been selected for presentation at this year’s BIO Asia International Conference in Tokyo, Japan.
The findings will be presented by BeyondSpring Chief Medical Officer and Head of Business Development Dr. Ramon Mohanlal, MD, PhD, MBA, at the Grand Hyatt Tokyo’s second floor drawing room at 3:30 p.m. local time on Wednesday, March 15, 2017. BeyondSpring is advancing Plinabulin, a small molecule that alters the tumor micro-environment and stimulates dendritic cell maturation and T-cell activation, into a global Phase 3 clinical trial for NSCLC treatment and global Phase 2/3 clinical trial for Neutropenia prevention.
We believe Plinabulin is able to mitigate severe Neutropenia, a common and potentially life-threatening adverse effect of Docetaxel. Plinabulin can be administered one hour after chemotherapy and has the potential to be a safe, cost-effective and convenient alternative to G-CSF, the current standard of care for chemotherapy-induced Neutropenia, with less bone pain and a more favorable safety profile.
Plinabulin offers a same-day dosing advantage over G-CSF, which should be administered 24 hours after chemotherapy, per G-CSF label (next-day dosing), by which time a significant damage to neutrophils has occurred. Plinabulin has also demonstrated a reduction in clinical sequelae associated with Docetaxel-induced Neutropenia, including infections, sepsis, hospitalizations and the need for Docetaxel dose reductions. For NSCLC, we believe that the clinical trial data suggest the addition of Plinabulin to a standard regimen of docetaxel may provide a clinically meaningful increase in anti-tumor activity compared to docetaxel alone.
“Plinabulin has proven to be a promising asset for both NSCLC treatment and Neutropenia prevention, and as such, partnering with pharmaceutical companies has become an integral part of our overall clinical development strategy,” said Dr. Mohanlal. “With the right partners, we believe we can advance a larger number of clinical programs simultaneously, and at a faster speed to the market. In addition, our partners’ timely input into our clinical trial design and the endpoints that facilitate market access is critical to achieving overall commercial success while maximizing value to both patients and payers.”
“BeyondSpring is fortunate to have been selected as one of the few companies to present its Plinabulin clinical data at BIO Asia this year, and we are honored to be co-hosting the welcome reception at this event, as well,” added Dr. Lan Huang, BeyondSpring CEO. “Initial clinical data indicate that Plinabulin not only demonstrates a benefit in overall survival and Neutropenia prevention, but it also provides both an efficacy and safety benefit for patients. As a result, this inexpensive-to-produce small molecule has the potential to become an innovative addition to cancer treatment and supportive care. It is BeyondSpring’s objective and focus to bring Plinabulin to market as quickly as possible.”
The 2017 BIO Asia International Conference will take place on March 14 through 15 at the Grand Hyatt Tokyo in Japan.
About BeyondSpring
BeyondSpring is a global clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative immuno-oncology cancer therapies with a robust pipeline from internal development and from collaboration with Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and University of Washington. BeyondSpring is advancing its lead asset, Plinabulin, into a Phase 3 clinical trial as a direct anticancer agent in non-small cell lung cancer and a Phase 2/3 clinical trial in the prevention of chemotherapy-induced Neutropenia. BeyondSpring has a seasoned management team with many years of experience bringing drugs to market.
About Plinabulin
Plinabulin is an innovative small molecule agent that has multiple mechanisms of action, with an immune-enhancing mechanism and tumor vasculature targeting as suggested by preclinical studies.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements that are not historical facts. Words such as "will," "expect," "anticipate," "plan," "believe," "design," "may," "future," "estimate," "predict," "objective," "goal," or variations thereof and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on BeyondSpring's current knowledge and its present beliefs and expectations regarding possible future events and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of several factors including, but not limited to, the anticipated amount needed to finance the company's future operations, unexpected results of clinical trials, delays or denial in regulatory approval process, or additional competition in the market. The forward-looking statements made herein speak only as of the date of this release and BeyondSpring undertakes no obligation to update publicly such forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances, except as otherwise required by law.