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Cellceutix to Present Poster on Novel Anti-Cancer Drug at Annual ASCO Meeting
BEVERLY, MA –May 28, 2013- Cellceutix Corporation (OTCBB: CTIX) (the "Company"), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering small molecule drugs to treat unmet medical conditions, including drug-resistant cancers and autoimmune diseases, announces today that it will be presenting a poster on the company’s p53-activating drug, Kevetrin, at the 2013 American Society of Clinical Oncology ("ASCO") Annual Meeting being held in Chicago, Illinois from May 31 through June 4, 2013.
An abstract of the poster, titled, "A phase I, dose-escalation, safety, pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic study of thioureidobutyronitrile, a novel p53 targeted therapy, in patients with advanced solid tumors," is now available on the ASCO website at http://abstracts2.asco.org/AbstView_132_113150.html .
“We will be presenting the most recent data available from the clinical trials of Kevetrin hosted at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center,” said Dr. Krishna Menon, Chief Scientific Officer at Cellceutix. “We are acutely aware that the oncology community and shareholders have a strong interest regarding schedule, maximum tolerated dose and potential efficacy of Kevetrin, given its uniqueness and potential. The laboratory informed us that additional samples were required for analysis of Kevetrin’s affect on biomarker p21, an early-stage indicator of efficacy. Those samples have been supplied by the hospital with more to be delivered as the trial progresses. We are hopeful that data will be available in time for ASCO.”
Leo Ehrlich, Chief Executive Officer at Celleutix, added, “To keep shareholders abreast of pipeline developments, manufacturing and scheduling is near complete for the Phase II clinical trial of our oral anti-psoriasis drug Prurisol. We anticipate the Proof of Concept trial to begin in August and take eight weeks to be completed. Given the recent market enthusiasm towards Celgene’s research of Apremilast, we are eager to commence our clinical research of Prurisol.”
“Additionally, I am pleased to inform shareholders that we plan to soon announce a new novel drug specifically designed for the treatment of leukemias as we make the next progression in growing our cancer drug franchise,” concluded Mr. Ehrlich.
About Kevetrin™
As a completely new class of chemistry in medicine, Kevetrin™ has significant potential to be a major breakthrough in the treatment of solid tumors. Mechanism of action studies showed Kevetrin's unique ability to affect both wild and mutant types of p53 (often referred to as the "Guardian Angel Gene" or the "Guardian Angel of the Human Genome") and that Kevetrin strongly induced apoptosis (cell death), characterized by activation of Caspase 3 and cleavage of PARP. Activation of p53 also induced apoptosis by inducing the expression of p53 target gene PUMA. p53 is an important tumor suppressor that acts to restrict proliferation by inducing cell cycle checkpoints, apoptosis, or cellular senescence.
In more than 50 percent of all human carcinomas, p53 is limited in its anti-tumor activities by mutations in the protein itself. Currently, there are greater than 10 million people with tumors that contain inactivated p53, while a similar number have tumors in which the p53 pathway is partially abrogated by inactivation of other signaling components. This has left cancer researchers with the grand challenge of searching for therapies that could restore the protein's protective function, which Kevetrin appears to be doing the majority of the time.
Further information on the clinical trial, titled "A Phase 1, Open-Label, Dose-Escalation, Safety, Pharmacokinetic and Pharmacodynamic Study of Kevetrin (Thioureidobutyronitrile) Administered Intravenously, in Patients With Advanced Solid Tumors," is available at: http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT0166400...amp;rank=1
About Cellceutix
Headquartered in Beverly, Massachusetts, Cellceutix is a publicly traded company under the symbol "CTIX". It is an emerging bio-pharmaceutical company focused on the development of its pipeline of compounds targeting areas of unmet medical need. Our flagship compound, Kevetrin™, is an anti-cancer drug which has demonstrated the ability in pre-clinical studies to regulate the p53 pathway and attack cancers which have proven resistant to today's cancer therapies (drug-resistant cancers). Cellceutix also owns the rights to seven other drug compounds, including KM-133, which is in development for psoriasis, and KM-391 for the treatment of the core symptoms of autism. More information is available on the Cellceutix web site at www.cellceutix.com.
Safe Harbor Forward-Looking Statements
To the extent that statements in this press release are not strictly historical, including statements as to revenue projections, business strategy, outlook, objectives, future milestones, plans, intentions, goals, future financial conditions, future collaboration agreements, the success of the Company's development, events conditioned on stockholder or other approval, or otherwise as to future events, such statements are forward-looking, and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements contained in this release are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made. Factors that may impact Cellceutix's success are more fully disclosed in Cellceutix's most recent public filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Cellceutix Corp.
Leo Ehrlich
(978) 236-8717
info@cellceutix.com
