Apr 3 2012

Oncoprex Shows Synergistic Tumor Suppression in Combination with AKT Inhibitor MK2206

Data Presented at the American Association for Cancer Research 2012 Annual Meeting

CHICAGO and AUSTIN, Texas, April 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Genprex, Inc. — New data demonstrating the anti-cancer activities of Oncoprex® were presented at the 2012 Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) in Chicago, IL. The study, “Synergistic antitumor activity of AKT inhibitor MK2206 and FUS1 nanoparticles in LKB1 mutant NSCLC” (Meng J, Lara-Guerra H, Ji L, Roth JA) is authored by a team of investigators from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The paper is included in the Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, 2012, Abstract 870. The preclinical study demonstrates that when Oncoprex is combined with Merck’s MK2206[1], the combination of therapies is more effective in suppressing growth in LKB1 mutant tumors than either of the single agents in animal models bearing H322 LKB1-mutant human lung cancer tumors. The treatment with the combination of Oncoprex and MK2206 resulted in tumor volume reduction of greater than 2.5 times the tumor reduction achieved with MK2206 alone.

A phase I clinical trial evaluating intravenous Oncoprex monotherapy, also known as FUS1 nanoparticles, demonstrated antitumor activity in lung cancer patients. Previously published animal studies showed synergistic cancer-killing activity when Oncoprex is combined with a variety of kinase inhibitory agents including erlotinib and gefitinib. A phase I/II clinical trial evaluating Oncoprex combined with Tarceva® (erlotinib) in lung cancer patients without the EGF receptor mutation or patients who have failed Tarceva therapy will initiate in 2012.

David J. Tomasso, chief operating and business officer at Genprex commented, “Many patients cannot benefit from targeted cancer therapies due to the patient’s genomic characteristics. We are developing Oncoprex combination therapies to expand patient populations benefiting from targeted therapies and to unlock the unrealized potential of a variety of targeted kinase inhibitory drugs. This study broadens the potential application of Oncoprex to include combinations with AKT inhibitors such as MK2206.”

Contact:
David Tomasso
Chief Operating and Business Officer
Genprex, Inc.
Phone: 512-597-5900
http://www.genprex.com
[1] MK2206, an investigational cancer therapy developed by Merck & Co., is a highly selective non-ATP competitive allosteric inhibitor of AKT currently being evaluated in early-phase clinical trials for treatment of cancer patients with solid tumors.

SOURCE Genprex, Inc.

Posted: April 2012

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Apr 3 2012

Biocept to Present at the 103rd AACR Annual Meeting on New Analytic Methods for Circulating Tumor Cell Analysis, Including SelectorTM, Ultra-Sensitive Mutation Detection Technology

SAN DIEGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Apr 2, 2012 – Biocept, Inc., a privately-held, CLIA certified laboratory testing company focused on detection and analysis of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in cancer patients, announced that it will be presenting three posters at the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, being held in Chicago March 31 – April 4. The presentations will cover the company’s ultra-sensitive mutation detection technology, SelectorTM, which is being applied to CTC analysis and other clinical and research applications where nucleic acid analysis requires exceptional sensitivity and specificity, as well as biomarker analysis in CTCs related to breast and prostate cancer.

The Selector presentation, entitled “The CEE-Selector Assay: A Tool for the Identification of Rare Allele Variants” (Alexiadis, V., et al) will take place on Tuesday, April 3rd, from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm (Abstract #3198). Selector is a proprietary, highly sensitive mutation detection technology that offers unprecedented sensitivity and specificity. It is able to detect rare mutations in complex wild-type genomic backgrounds with a ratio of greater than 1 in 10,000. It was developed at Biocept, initially for analysis of mutations in rare CTCs, and will be utilized in the company’s future tests, including OncoCEE-LUTM for non-small cell lung cancer and OncoCEE-CRTM for colorectal cancer. Additionally, Biocept has recently demonstrated broader utility for the technology, including detection of mutations in cell-free circulating DNA (cfcDNA) in the plasma of cancer patients. For example, it was able to identify the tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistance mutation T790M in the EGFR gene in lung cancer patients, where ratios of mutant to wild-type gene ranged down to 0.004%. Dr. Lyle Arnold, CSO and Sr. Vice President, R&D at Biocept, commented, “The sensitivity and precision of this technology will enable completely new analyses. We expect to be able to detect and track the rise of a clonal group of cancer cells harboring a specific mutation even before it becomes clinically significant, allowing treatment at a very early stage.”

A second presentation is entitled “Estrogen Receptor and Progesterone Receptor Immunochemistry Staining in Circulating Tumor Cells as Compared to Primary Tumor or Metastatic Biopsy” (Mayer, JA, et al), which will take place on Tuesday, April 3rd, from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm (Abstract #4568) and will cover a study performed in collaboration with researchers at Columbia University Medical Center demonstrating high concordance of hormone status in breast cancer patients between CTCs and tumor tissue by staining with fluorescently labeled antibodies. The third poster, entitled “Increased Detection of Circulating Prostate Epithelial Tumor Cells on Microfluidic Channels Using Enhanced Staining and Automated Scanning” (Pircher, TJ, et al), addresses technology developed by the company to detect cytokeratin negative CTCs with a new staining technique called CEE-EnhancedTM as well as with anti-PSA antibodies, and to automate the detection of these cells with scanning technology and microscopy, and will take place on Monday, April 2nd, from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm (Abstract #2390). These abstracts reflect technology that is being added to Biocept’s platform and test products to enhance CTC capture, detection and analysis.

Biocept’s first CTC test, OncoCEE-BRTM for breast cancer, is now available through Biocept and its commercialization partner, Clarient, Inc., a GE Healthcare Company. The test includes CTC enumeration and determination of HER2 status by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) from a blood sample. Determination of estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) status by immunocytochemical staining will be added to the test later this year, and early next year, respectively. OncoCEE-BR is the first commercially available CTC test to include analysis of a specific, treatment-associated biomarker (HER2).

About Biocept, Inc.

Biocept, Inc., headquartered in San Diego, California, is an advanced laboratory services company specializing in the capture, isolation, detection and analysis of Circulating Tumor Cells (CTCs). Biocept’s mission is to enhance the lives of cancer patients through the development of innovative diagnostic products and services. Biocept utilizes patented and innovative technologies to deliver clinically relevant and actionable information to physicians that enable better patient care. This includes clinical assessments of CTCs, both prognostic and predictive, which may provide physicians with important information for the treatment of their patients with cancer.