LOS ANGELES, July 25, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- CytRx Corporation (Nasdaq: CYTR), a biopharmaceutical research and development company specializing in oncology, today announced that Centurion BioPharma Corporation, a private wholly-owned subsidiary of CytRx Corporation, filed a provisional patent application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office covering its unique albumin companion diagnostic (ACDx) for use alongside its albumin binding ultra-high potency LADR^™ (Linker Activated Drug Release) drug candidates.  The goal of ACDx is to identify patients with cancer who are most likely to benefit from treatment with the Company's lead assets, LADR-7, LADR-8, LADR-9 and LADR-10 and from any albumin-binding drugs the Company may generate in the future

ACDx utilizes new imaging agents to radiolabel albumin and when used in combination with state-of-the art imaging techniques, allows for detection of albumin uptake and distribution in the patient's tumor.  Since the LADR™ drug candidates are albumin-binding drugs, the Company believes the response rates  will be higher in the selected patients who test positive with this personalized medicine companion diagnostic.

"Our companion diagnostic will offer physicians the ability to determine a cancer patient's unique physiological tumor characteristics and to use these distinctions to select albumin-based LADR™ drug candidates that increase the likelihood of a successful outcome, while reducing the potential for possible adverse reactions," said Felix Kratz, PhD, Centurion Biopharma's Vice President of Drug Discovery and inventor of the companion diagnostic. "ACDx also has the potential to enhance the effectiveness of future clinical trials evaluating LADR-7, -8, -9 and -10 and to accelerate the development process and the time to market. We believe the co-development of our targeted LADR™ drug candidates along with this proprietary companion diagnostic will prove to be a successful strategy to expedite these novel, albumin-binding, ultra-high potency anti-cancer agents from the bench to the bedside."

The Company believes this is a significant step forward for the attractiveness of its pipeline and drug development program. "In the rapidly-evolving field of oncology, extensive resources are being devoted not only to the discovery and development of innovative drug regimens, but also to companion diagnostics to provide targeted therapies that better serve individual patients," said Eric Curtis, Centurion BioPharma's Chief Executive Officer and President. "The newly filed patent covers our internally developed ACDx technology, an innovative companion diagnostic that through continued development, would provide  patients with a personalized approach to their treatment with our investigational LADR™ drug candidates. We believe ACDx strengthens Centurion's competitive advantages and affirms the ability of LADR™ to be studied in multiple tumor types, making our pipeline significantly more valuable to strategic partners."

About CytRx Corporation

CytRx Corporation (Nasdaq: CYTR) is a biopharmaceutical company with expertise in discovering and developing new therapeutics to treat patients with cancer. CytRx's most advanced drug conjugate, aldoxorubicin, is an improved version of the widely used anti-cancer drug doxorubicin and has been out-licensed to NantCell, Inc.  CytRx's website is www.cytrx.com.

About Centurion BioPharma Corporation

 Centurion BioPharma Corporation is focused on advancing a portfolio of novel, anti-cancer drug candidates that employ its LADR™ (Linker Activated Drug Release) technology, a discovery engine designed to leverage the Company's expertise in albumin biology and linker technology for the development of a new class of potential breakthrough anti-cancer therapies. A critical element of the LADR™ platform is its ability to bind anti-cancer molecules to albumin, the most ubiquitous protein in human blood plasma, and then to release the highly potent cytotoxic payload at the tumor site. This technology allows for the delivery of higher doses of drug directly to the tumor, while avoiding much of the off-target toxicity observed with the parent molecules. Centurion BioPharma's website is www.centurionbiopharma.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from the events or results described in the forward-looking statements, including risks and uncertainties relating to the ability of NantCell, Inc., to obtain regulatory approval for its products that use aldoxorubicin; the ability of NantCell, Inc., to manufacture and commercialize products or therapies that use aldoxorubicin; the amount, if any, of future milestone and royalty payments that we may receive from NantCell, Inc.; Centurion BioPharma Corporation's ability to develop new ultra-high potency drug candidates based on its LADR™ technology platform; our ability to attract potential licensees; and other risks and uncertainties described in the most recent annual and quarterly reports filed by CytRx with the Securities and Exchange Commission and current reports filed since the date of CytRx's most recent annual report. All forward-looking statements are based upon information available to CytRx on the date the statements are first published. CytRx undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Investor Relations Contact:
Argot Partners
Michelle Carroll
(212) 600-1902
cytrx@argotpartners.com

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SOURCE CytRx Corporation