Aduro Biotech Establishes European Subsidiary -R

-Recently Acquired BioNovion Site to Become Aduro Biotech Europe-

-Expanded European Clinical Development Presence Begins With Phase 3 Mesothelioma Study-

BERKELEY, Calif., Nov. 19, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aduro Biotech, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADRO ) today announced that it has established European subsidiary headquarters at the BioNovion site in Oss, Netherlands now called Aduro Biotech Europe. On October 30, 2015, Aduro acquired BioNovion, a biopharmaceutical antibody discovery and development company, to broaden its technology portfolio and increase its immunotherapy capabilities.

“In addition to expanding our pipeline with complementary technologies, we are pleased that this acquisition allows us to integrate a highly experienced scientific team and expand our clinical development presence abroad,” said Stephen T. Isaacs, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Aduro. “With our new base in Europe, we look forward to collaborating with the local European medical and business communities as we initiate international clinical research programs.”

In addition to Aduro’s established LADD and CDN technologies, Aduro’s new combined offerings include the B-select monoclonal antibodies (B-select) platform, which is designed to produce first- and best-in-class agonist and antagonist monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that may be used to create a deep pipeline of products focused on harnessing the immune system of cancer patients. Aduro is an immuno-oncology company that has multiple therapeutic platforms with the potential to yield powerful immunotherapy combinations.

Monoclonal antibody expertise will remain in the Aduro Biotech Europe office in the Netherlands, which will operate as a subsidiary. Andrea van Elsas, Ph.D. and Hans van Eenennaam, Ph.D, chief scientific officer and chief operating officer of BioNovion respectively, will retain their roles and titles at Aduro Biotech Europe.

Near term clinical development plans include the initiation of a global Phase 3 trial to evaluate the combination of CRS-207, a LADD-based immunotherapy, and standard-of-care chemotherapy in patients with unresectable malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). Clinical trial sites in Europe will open in 2016. MPM – a rare, difficult to treat cancer that is commonly associated with asbestos exposure – is still a significant health problem throughout Europe, with the highest MPM related mortality rate globally and over 50,000 MPM related deaths between 1994-2008. ^1,2

The integration of Aduro’s newly acquired B-select technology provides a new platform for Aduro to continue to build a strong oncology research and development pipeline. Aduro’s broad portfolio of immunotherapy candidates positions the company to potentially offer patients around the globe novel therapeutic options and combinations that are alternatives to traditional therapies.

About Aduro

Aduro Biotech, Inc. is a clinical-stage immunotherapy company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies that transform the treatment of challenging diseases. Aduro's technology platforms, which are designed to harness the body's natural immune system, are being investigated in cancer indications and have the potential to expand into autoimmune and infectious diseases. Aduro's LADD technology platform is based on proprietary attenuated strains of Listeria that have been engineered to express tumor-associated antigens to induce specific and targeted immune responses. Based on compelling clinical data in advanced cancers, this platform is being developed as a treatment for multiple indications, including pancreatic, lung and prostate cancers, mesothelioma and glioblastoma. Aduro's cyclic dinucleotide (CDN) platform is designed to activate the intracellular STING receptor, resulting in a potent tumor-specific immune response. Aduro’s B-select monoclonal antibody platform includes a number of immune modulating assets in research and preclinical development. Aduro is collaborating with leading global pharmaceutical companies to expand its products and technology platforms. For more information, please visit www.aduro.com .

  Reference

1. Park EK, Takahashi K, Hoshuyama T, et al. Global magnitude of reported and unreported mesothelioma.Environ Health Perspect 2011;119:514-8 
2. Bulletin of the World Health Organization. Global Mesothelioma Deaths Reported to the World Health Organization between 1994 and 2008.  

Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding our intentions or current expectations concerning, among other things, the potential for our technology, the potential benefits or our acquisition of BioNovion, plans and timing of our clinical trials, the potential for eventual regulatory approval, commercialization and launch of our product candidates and European expansion. In some cases you can identify these statements by forward-looking words such as “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “could,” “would,” “project,” “plan,” “expect” or the negative or plural of these words or similar expressions.  Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those anticipated, including, but not limited to, our history of net operating losses and uncertainty regarding our ability to achieve profitability, our ability to develop and commercialize our product candidates, our ability to use and expand our technology platforms to build a pipeline of product candidates, our dependence on our lead product candidate, CRS-207, and GVAX Pancreas, our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval of our product candidates, our inability to operate in a competitive industry and compete successfully against competitors that have greater resources than we do, our reliance on third parties, our ability to integrate BioNovion into our business and our ability to obtain and adequately protect intellectual property rights for our product candidates.  We discuss many of these risks in greater detail under the heading "Risk Factors" contained in the most recent Form 10-Q which is on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and our actual results of operations, financial condition and liquidity, and the development of the industry in which we operate, may differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Any forward-looking statements that we make in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release. We assume no obligation to update our forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date of this press release.

Contact: Sylvia Wheeler SVP, Corporate Affairs 510 809 9264 Media Contact: Angela Bitting 925 202 6211 press@aduro.com