BioLineRx Announces BL-8040, for the Treatment of Leukemia and Other Types of Hematological Cancer, to be Presented at 2012 ASH Annual Meeting
<0> KCSA Strategic CommunicationsGarth Russell, 1 212-896-1250orTodd Fromer, 1 212-896-1215orTsipi Haitovsky, Public Relations+972-52-598-9892 </0>
BioLineRx Ltd. (NASDAQ: ) (TASE: ), a biopharmaceutical development company, announced today that in vivo and in vitro data demonstrating the efficacy of BL-8040 in treating chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) has been accepted for presentation at the , the premier hematology scientific conference, to take place in Atlanta, Georgia on December 8-11, 2012.
BL-8040 (formerly BKT-140) is a clinical-stage drug candidate for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), as well as other types of hematological cancer. It is a short peptide that functions as a high-affinity antagonist for CXCR4, a chemokine receptor that is directly involved in tumor progression, angiogenesis (growth of new blood vessels in the tumor), metastasis (spread of the disease to other organs or organ parts) and cell survival. CXCR4 is over-expressed in more than 70% of human cancers and its expression often correlates with disease severity. In a Phase I/II, open-label, dose escalation, safety and efficacy clinical trial in 16 multiple myeloma patients, BL-8040 demonstrated an excellent safety profile and was well tolerated at all doses tested.
BioLineRx intends to commence the next clinical studies for evaluating BL-8040’s efficacy on AML and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients in the first half of 2013 and will conduct preparatory sessions at the ASH meeting with the principal investigators from the main U.S. sites.
BL-8040 has been shown to induce the mobilization of healthy hematopoietic stem cells from the bone marrow into the peripheral blood. BL-8040 also mobilizes cancer cells from the bone marrow and other sites and may therefore expose these cells to chemo- and bio-based anti-cancer therapy. It has also demonstrated a direct anti-cancer effect by inducing apoptosis (cell death). Pre-clinical studies show that BL-8040 is efficient, both alone and in combination with the anti-cancer drug Rituximab, in reducing bone marrow metastasis of lymphoma cells and stimulating lymphoma cell death.
In September, BioLineRx announced the signing of an exclusive, worldwide license agreement with Biokine Therapeutics Ltd., a Clal Biotechnology Industries (TASE: CBI) portfolio company, for BioLineRx to develop and commercialize BL-8040.
BioLineRx is a publicly-traded biopharmaceutical development company. BioLineRx is dedicated to building a portfolio of products for unmet medical needs or with advantages over currently available therapies. BioLineRx’s current portfolio consists of six clinical stage candidates: BL-1020 for schizophrenia is currently undergoing a Phase II/III study; BL-1040, for prevention of pathological cardiac remodeling following a myocardial infarction, which has been out-licensed to Ikaria Inc., is currently undergoing a pivotal CE-Mark registration trial; BL-5010 for non-surgical removal of skin lesions has completed a Phase I/II study; BL-1021 for neuropathic pain is in Phase I development, BL-7040 for treating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is currently undergoing a Phase II trial, and BL-8040 for treating acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and other hematological cancers has completed Phase I. In addition, BioLineRx has nine products in various pre-clinical development stages for a variety of indications, including central nervous system diseases, infectious diseases, cardiovascular and autoimmune diseases.
BioLineRx’s business model is based on acquiring molecules mainly from biotechnological incubators and academic institutions. The Company performs feasibility assessment studies and development through pre-clinical and clinical stages, with partial funding from the Israeli Government’s Office of the Chief Scientist (OCS). The final stage includes partnering with medium and large pharmaceutical companies for advanced clinical development (Phase III) and commercialization. For more information on BioLineRx, please visit .