LOS ANGELES, Oct. 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- CytRx Corporation (NASDAQ: CYTR), a biopharmaceutical research and development company specializing in oncology, today announced that it has commenced operations at its new discovery laboratory, located in Freiburg, Germany. The new laboratory will conduct discovery and translational research to create drug candidates that utilize novel linker technologies that couple chemotherapeutic agents and proteins either inside the body or externally, and then concentrate drug in tumors. Led by Felix Kratz, Ph.D., Vice President of Drug Discovery and inventor of aldoxorubicin, and Andre Warnecke, Ph.D., Senior Director of Drug Discovery, the discovery team will work to expand CytRx's novel albumin-binding anti-cancer drug pipeline.
"Under the leadership of Dr. Kratz, an internationally recognized expert in conjugation chemistry, our new discovery lab is now fully operational with multiple projects already started," said Steven A. Kriegsman, CytRx President and Chief Executive Officer. "Adding innovative product candidates to our future oncology pipeline is an important goal for CytRx and the work being done at our Freiburg lab is expected to yield a first clinical candidate by the second half of 2015. Bringing these research and development capabilities in-house allows us to control our pipeline, and rapidly move novel product candidates from bench to bedside."
The work done at our laboratory will expand the Company's pipeline and add to CytRx's intellectual property that was originally developed by the KTB Tumor Biology Center in Freiburg and licensed exclusively to CytRx.
Dr. Felix Kratz, one of the most highly regarded conjugation chemists in oncology, joins CytRx with 25 years of experience in drug discovery and research. Dr. Kratz's research includes the development of novel, targeted molecules for cancer therapies, with a special emphasis on the use of albumin as a targeting agent. His research in preclinical and early clinical development of these therapies has led to the creation of a number of new cancer-fighting agents that use albumin to concentrate chemotherapeutics inside cancers, including the invention of CytRx's lead compound, aldoxorubicin. Dr. Kratz has been at the forefront of designing novel agents, using various linker chemistries to create a variety of protein-drug conjugates.
About CytRx Corporation
CytRx Corporation is a biopharmaceutical research and development company specializing in oncology. CytRx currently is focused on the clinical development of aldoxorubicin (formerly known as INNO-206), its improved version of the widely used chemotherapeutic agent doxorubicin. CytRx has initiated under a special protocol assessment a pivotal Phase 3 global trial with aldoxorubicin as a therapy for patients with soft tissue sarcomas whose tumors have progressed following treatment with chemotherapy, and recently announced that it has received approval from the FDA to continue dosing patients with aldoxorubicin until disease progression in that clinical trial. CytRx is currently evaluating aldoxorubicin in a global Phase 2b clinical trial in small cell lung cancer, a Phase 2 clinical trial in HIV-related Kaposi's sarcoma, a Phase 2 clinical trial in patients with late-stage glioblastoma (brain cancer), a Phase 1b trial in combination with ifosfamide in patients with soft tissue sarcoma, and a Phase 1b trial in combination with gemcitabine in subjects with metastatic solid tumors. CytRx has completed a global Phase 2b clinical trial with aldoxorubicin as a first-line therapy for soft tissue sarcomas, a Phase 1b/2 clinical trial primarily in the same indication, a Phase 1b clinical trial of aldoxorubicin in combination with doxorubicin in patients with advanced solid tumors and a Phase 1b pharmacokinetics clinical trial in patients with metastatic solid tumors. CytRx plans to expand its pipeline of oncology candidates at its laboratory facilities in Freiburg, Germany, based on novel linker technologies that can be utilized with multiple chemotherapeutic agents and may allow for greater concentration of drug at tumor sites. For more information about CytRx Corporation, visit www.cytrx.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. 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 relating to the outcome, timing and results of CytRx's clinical trials, the timing or FDA approval of projected commercial sales of aldoxorubicin, the risk that any future human testing of aldoxorubicin might not produce results similar to those seen in past human or animal testing, risks related to CytRx's ability to manufacture its drug candidates in a timely fashion, cost-effectively or in commercial quantities in compliance with stringent regulatory requirements, risks related to CytRx's need for additional capital or strategic partnerships to fund its ongoing working capital needs and development efforts, including the Phase 3 clinical development of aldoxorubicin, risks related to lawsuits that have been brought against the Company and its officers and/or directors for alleged violations of the securities laws, and the 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:
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Michelle Carroll
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Company Contact:
CytRx Corporation
David J. Haen
Vice President, Business Development and Investor Relations
310-826-5648, x304
dhaen@cytrx.com
SOURCE CytRx Corporation
