MacroGenics Announces Pre-clinical Data to be Presented at ASH 2014 Annual Meeting
ROCKVILLE, Md., Nov. 6, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MacroGenics, Inc. (Nasdaq: MGNX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing innovative monoclonal antibody-based therapeutics for the treatment of cancer, as well as autoimmune disorders and infectious diseases, today announced that pre-clinical data on MGD011, a humanized CD19 x CD3 Dual-Affinity Re-Targeting (DART®) protein, will be highlighted in a poster presentation at the 56th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), to be held December 6-9, 2014 in San Francisco, CA.
MGD011 is designed to redirect T-cells to eliminate CD19-expressing cells found in many hematological malignancies and has been engineered to address half-life challenges posed by other programs targeting CD19 and CD3. Moreover, MGD011 and other DART molecules are manufactured using a conventional antibody platform without the complexity of having to genetically modify T cells from individual patients as required by approaches such as chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells. MGD011 has a modified Fc domain, which allows for extended pharmacokinetic properties and convenient dosing at a once-a-week or longer interval. It is one of two new oncology-based DART candidates for which MacroGenics intends to initiate clinical studies in 2015.
"This represents another important milestone for our DART platform," said Scott Koenig, M.D., Ph.D., President and CEO of MacroGenics. "CD19-targeted therapies have generated much excitement, and, based on our pre-clinical data, we believe that MGD011 has great potential in the treatment of patients with certain types of hematological malignancies. We look forward to initiating clinical development in 2015."
MGD011, Humanized CD19 x CD3 DART® Protein with Enhanced Pharmacokinetic Properties, Demonstrates Potent T-Cell Mediated Anti-Tumor Activity in Preclinical Models and Durable B-Cell Depletion in Cynomolgus Monkeys Following Once-a-Week Dosing
Presenter: Liqin Liu, Ph.D., Senior Scientist at MacroGenics
Session Name: 625. Lymphoma: Pre-Clinical - Chemotherapy and Biologic Agents: Poster I
Presentation Date and Time: Saturday, December 6, 2014; 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM PT
Location: West Building, Level 1 (Moscone Center)
Abstract Number: 1775
About MacroGenics, Inc.
MacroGenics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing innovative monoclonal antibody-based therapeutics for the treatment of cancer, as well as autoimmune disorders and infectious diseases. The Company generates its pipeline of product candidates from its proprietary suite of next-generation antibody-based technology platforms. The combination of MacroGenics' technology platforms and protein engineering expertise has allowed the Company to generate promising product candidates and enter into several strategic collaborations with global pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. For more information, please see the Company's website at www.macrogenics.com. MacroGenics and DART are registered trademarks of MacroGenics, Inc.
Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements
Any statements in this press release about future expectations, plans and prospects for the Company, including statements about the Company's strategy, future operations, clinical development of the Company's therapeutic candidates, milestone or opt-in payments from the Company's collaborators, the Company's future expectations and plans and prospects and other statements containing the words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "predict," "project," "target," "potential," "will," "would," "could," "should," "continue," and similar expressions, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including: the uncertainties inherent in the initiation and enrollment of future clinical trials, expectations of expanding ongoing clinical trials, availability and timing of data from ongoing clinical trials, expectations for regulatory approvals, other matters that could affect the availability or commercial potential of the Company's product candidates and other risk factors described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including those discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 20, 2014 and the subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of the date hereof. The Company anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause the Company's views to change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date hereof.
###
CONTACT: Jim Karrels, Vice President, CFO
MacroGenics, Inc.
1-301-251-5172, info@macrogenics.com
Karen Sharma, Vice President
MacDougall Biomedical Communications
1-781-235-3060, ksharma@macbiocom.com
Source: MacroGenics, Inc.
News Provided by Acquire Media
