Niiki Pharma to Present Phase I Clinical Data on Anti-Cancer Agent at ASCO

May 24, 2012 - PRLog -- HOBOKEN, N.J. and PHILADELPHIA - Niiki Pharma Inc. announced today that results from the completed Phase I dose escalation trial of NKP-1339 will be presented at a poster discussion session at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) to be held in Chicago, Illinois, from June 1 - 5, 2012.

“We are very excited that we have determined the Phase II dose of our GRP78 pathway inhibitor, NKP-1339, to be administered to patients with advanced cancer. We look forward to the full development of this novel targeted agent” said Angela Ogden, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of Niiki Pharma.

The Phase I clinical data to be presented will include safety, efficacy and pharmacodynamics. Details of the presentation include:

Session:                Developmental Therapeutics – Experimental Therapeutics;
Date/Time:            Saturday, June 2, 2012; 1:15 PM - 5:15 PM (CT)
Location:                S405
Abstract # 3303:   NKP-1339: Maximum tolerated dose defined for first-in-human GRP78 targeted agent.


About NKP-1339
NKP-1339 is a first-in-class small molecule anti-cancer compound that down-regulates GRP78, a known tumor survival and anti-apoptosis factor. In preclinical studies, NKP-1339 has demonstrated activity against multiple tumor types and has shown synergy with most cancer drugs.

About GRP78
GRP78 is a master-regulator of the cellular stress response. It is also a critical tumor cell survival, anti-apoptosis and resistance factor. In normal cells, GRP78 is found at low levels and located in the endoplasmic reticulum. In cancer cells, GRP78 is significantly up-regulated and found in the tumor cell cytoplasm, nucleus, endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, cell surface and is secreted. The elevation of GRP78 expression in a wide variety of cancer types has been correlated with increased tumor cell proliferation, metastasis, angiogenesis, and tumor cell survival and resistance. High levels of GRP78 protein have been correlated with primary and secondary resistance to many anti-cancer agents.

About Niiki Pharma Inc.
Niiki Pharma (www.niikipharma.com) is a development focused oncology company specializing in first-in-class cancer treatments directed at novel tumor targets and related companion diagnostics. The company has two clinical stage anti-cancer compounds, discovered by Professor Bernhard Keppler, University of Vienna, Austria.

Contacts
For Media Relations: Carolyn Rhinebarger, carolyn@luminovas.com, +1-919-604-4053.
For Investor Relations and Partnering: Ali Ardakani, ardakani@niikipharma.com, +1-201-238-2885