REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Jan. 9, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: OMED ), a clinical-stage company developing novel therapeutics that target cancer stem cells (CSCs), or tumor-initiating cells, today announced that data from ongoing clinical trials of two novel anti-cancer stem cell therapeutics, both targeting the Notch cancer stem cell pathway and being evaluated in advanced pancreatic cancer, have been accepted for presentation at the upcoming 2014 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium being held January 16-18, 2014 at the Moscone West Convention Center in San Francisco, California.
Data will be presented from OncoMed's Phase 1b clinical study of demcizumab and gemcitabine with and without nab-paclitaxel (Abraxane ® ) and from the Phase 1b ALPINE ( A ntibody therapy in first- L ine P ancreatic cancer I nvestigating anti- N otch E fficacy and safety) clinical study of OMP-59R5 in combination with gemcitabine and nab-paclitaxel. Both clinical studies continue to enroll patients with first-line metastatic pancreatic cancer.
The titles and timing of the poster presentations are:
Title: A phase 1b study of the anticancer stem cell agent demcizumab (DEM) and gemcitabine (GEM) with or without paclitaxel protein bound particles (nab-paclitaxel) in patients with pancreatic cancer . (Abstract #259; Poster Board B52)
Presenting Author: Antonio Cubillo, M.D., START-Madrid
Date and Time: Friday, January 17, 2014; 12:00pm - 2:00pm and 5:30pm - 7:00pm PT
Title: Phase 1b of anti-cancer stem cell antibody OMP-59R5 (anti-Notch2/3) in combination with nab-Paclitaxel and gemcitabine (Nab-P+Gem) in patients (pts) with untreated metastatic pancreatic cancer (mPC) (Abstract #220; Poster Board A49)
Presenting author: Eileen M. O'Reilly, M.D., Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Date and Time: Friday, January 17, 2014; 12:00pm - 2:00pm and 5:30pm - 7:00pm PT
About Cancer Stem Cells
Cancer stem cells, or CSCs, are the subpopulation of cells in a tumor responsible for driving growth and metastasis of the tumor. CSCs, also known as tumor-initiating cells, exhibit certain properties which include the capacity to divide and give rise to new CSCs via a process called self-renewal and the capacity to differentiate or change into the other cells that form the bulk of the tumor. Common cancer drugs target bulk tumor cells but have limited impact on CSCs, thereby providing a path for recurrence of the tumor. OncoMed's product candidates target CSCs by blocking self-renewal and driving differentiation of CSCs toward a non-tumorigenic state, and also impact bulk tumor cells. OncoMed believes its product candidates are distinct from the current generations of chemotherapies and targeted therapies, and have the potential to significantly impact cancer treatment and the clinical outcome of patients with cancer.
About OncoMed Pharmaceuticals
OncoMed Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage company focused on discovering and developing novel therapeutics targeting cancer stem cells. OncoMed has five anti-cancer product candidates in clinical development, including demcizumab (Anti-DLL4, OMP-21M18), OMP-59R5 (Anti-Notch2/3), OMP-52M51 (Anti-Notch1), vantictumab (Anti-Fzd7, OMP-18R5), and OMP-54F28 (Fzd8-Fc), which target key cancer stem cell signaling pathways including Notch and Wnt. OncoMed has two other antibodies in preclinical development, Anti-DLL4/Anti-VEGF bispecific and Anti-RSPO3, with Investigational New Drug filings planned for as early as 2014. OncoMed is also pursuing discovery of additional novel anti-CSC product candidates. OncoMed has formed strategic alliances with Celgene Corporation, Bayer Pharma AG and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). Additional information can be found at the company's website: www.oncomed.com .
Forward-Looking Statements
To the extent that statements contained in this press release are not descriptions of historical facts regarding OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, they are forward-looking statements reflecting the current beliefs and expectations of management made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including OncoMed's expectations regarding the success of Phase 1 trials for demcizumab and OMP-59R5 and a favorable safety profile for these drug candidates; the potential of OncoMed's product candidates to significantly impact cancer treatment and the clinical outcome of patients with cancer; and the timing of Investigational New Drug filings and clinical trials. Such forward-looking statements involve substantial risks and uncertainties that could cause OncoMed's clinical development programs, future results, performance or achievements to differ significantly from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, the uncertainties inherent in the preclinical and clinical development process; the risks and uncertainties of the regulatory approval process; OncoMed's dependence on its collaboration partners, including GSK, Bayer and Celgene, for the funding of its partnered programs; OncoMed's ability to raise capital to support the development of its unpartnered programs; OncoMed's dependence on the development and marketing efforts of its partners for the commercial success of its partnered product candidates; OncoMed's reliance on third parties to conduct certain preclinical studies and all of its clinical trials; OncoMed's reliance on single source third-party contract manufacturing organizations to manufacture and supply its product candidates; OncoMed's ability to validate, develop and obtain regulatory approval for companion diagnostics; OncoMed's ability to achieve market acceptance and commercial success of its product candidates once regulatory approval is achieved; OncoMed's ability to discover, develop and commercialize additional product candidates; the ability of competitors to discover, develop or commercialize competing products more quickly or more successfully; OncoMed's dependence on its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, its Chief Scientific Officer, its Chief Medical Officer and other key executives; risk of third party claims alleging infringement of patents and proprietary rights or seeking to invalidate OncoMed's patents or proprietary rights; and the ability of OncoMed's proprietary rights to protect its technologies and product candidates. OncoMed undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. . For a further description of the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed in these forward-looking statements, as well as risks relating to OncoMed's business in general, see OncoMed's Prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 18, 2013 and OncoMed's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended September 30,2013, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 13, 2013.
Investor Contact: OncoMed Pharmaceuticals Shari Annes Investor Relations (650) 888-0902 Media Inquiries: BCC Partners Karen L. Bergman or Michelle Corral (650) 575-1509 or (415) 794-8662 or
