LOS ANGELES, Feb. 11, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- CytRx Corporation (NASDAQ: CYTR), a biopharmaceutical research and development company specializing in oncology, today highlighted comments from an OncLive® article dated February 1, 2019 that an estimated majority of oncology patients do not have targetable genetic mutations that would make them eligible for targeted treatment. Therefore, this majority of patients are candidates for standard therapies, which typically include chemotherapy.
Dr. Keith T. Flaherty, ECOG-ACRIN study chair and a medical oncologist at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, noted in the OncLive® article that it appears roughly 65% of patients do not have potentially targetable mutations. While progress has been made in some areas for patients with genetic mutations, and studies like NCI-MATCH (a precision medicine trial of numerous agents across tumor types) continue to assess which patients may benefit from therapies targeting certain genes, for the majority of cancer patients, there is no targetable genetic mutations.
Centurion BioPharma, a private wholly owned subsidiary of CytRx, is focused on advancing the Company's proprietary, albumin binding ultra-high potency LADR™ (Linker-Activated Drug Release) oncology drug candidates and accompanying companion diagnostic (ACDx) to improve clinical outcomes for patients with solid tumors.
"Because the majority of cancer patients do not have a targetable genetic mutation, CytRx believes many of those patients may be candidates for chemotherapy. Conventional chemotherapy agents have been a mainstay in standard oncology practice for decades and remains the relevant approach for the majority of physicians and patients," Eric Curtis, President and CEO of Centurion Corporation. "We believe that our LADR assets and accompanying ACDx will greatly improve the safety and efficacy of cytotoxic therapy, leading to better clinical outcomes across a wide variety of solid tumor types. The ability of LADR to maximize tumor cell kill potential, while minimizing systemic toxicity, means these assets can fulfill a significant clinical unmet need. Additionally, our companion diagnostic shows promise to increase the value of the LADR pipeline by incorporating a personalized medicine approach."
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. In addition, CytRx's other drug candidate, arimoclomol has been out-licensed to Orphazyme A/S (Nasdaq Copenhagen exchange). Orphazyme is testing arimoclomol in four indications including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Niemann-Pick disease Type C (NPC), Gaucher disease and sporadic Inclusion Body Myositis (sIBM). CytRx Corporation's website is www.cytrx.com.
About Centurion Corporation
CytRx's wholly owned subsidiary, Centurion BioPharma Corporation, is focused on the development of personalized medicine that is designed to transform solid tumor treatment. This transformational strategy combines a portfolio of novel, anti-cancer drug candidates that employ LADR™ (Linker Activated Drug Release) technology, a discovery engine designed to leverage Centurion's expertise in albumin biology and linker technology for the development of a new class of breakthrough anti-cancer therapies with a unique albumin companion diagnostic (ACDx) that can help identify patients who are most likely to benefit from treatment with the LADR™-derived therapies. A critical element of the LADR™ platform is its ability to bind anti-cancer molecules to circulating 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 patent molecules. Centurion BioPharma Corporation'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 targeted therapies to treat cancer patients in the future; the ability of Centurion BioPharma to enter into strategic transactions or partnerships involving its proprietary LADR™ drug candidates and to enter clinical trials or obtain regulatory approvals for any such products; the efficacy and safety of such products; the ability of Centurion to develop new ultra-high potency drug candidates based on its LADR™ technology platform; or 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
michelle@argotpartners.com
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SOURCE CytRx Corporation