Apexigen Announces New Collaboration With UCSF

SAN CARLOS, Calif., Oct. 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Apexigen, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focusing on discovering and developing antibody-based therapeutics for the treatment of cancer with an emphasis on new Immuno-Oncology (I-O) agents, today announced the initiation of patient enrollment in a Phase 2 clinical trial in collaboration with the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). This trial is designed to evaluate Apexigen’s CD40 agonistic antibody, APX005M, in combination with multimodal treatment (chemotherapy and radiation therapy) in patients with resectable esophageal and gastro-esophageal junction cancers.

“APX005M has demonstrated robust immune activation with a good safety profile in cancer patients. There is very strong scientific rationale to expect synergistic benefits in treating patients with esophageal or gastro-esophageal junction cancers with APX005M in combination with current standard-of-care therapies for these types of cancers,” said Ovid Trifan, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer at Apexigen. “We are eager to collaborate with UCSF to explore ways to improve the treatment of this disease through stimulating patients’ anti-cancer immune responses.”

Andrew Ko, M.D., Professor, Department of Medicine (Hematology/Oncology) UCSF, is the Principal Investigator of this new clinical trial. Additional information on this clinical trial is available at www.clinicaltrials.gov (identifier: NCT03165994).

About APX005M
APX005M is a novel, humanized monoclonal antibody that stimulates the anti-tumor immune response in the tumor microenvironment through antigen-presenting cells (APC) of the immune system. APX005M targets CD40, a co-stimulatory receptor that is essential for activating both innate and adaptive immune systems. Binding of APX005M to CD40 on antigen presenting cells (i.e., dendritic cells, monocytes and B-cells) initiates a multi-faceted immune response bringing multiple components of the immune system (e.g., T cells, macrophages) to work in concert against cancer. APX005M is currently in Phase 1/2 clinical development for the treatment of solid tumors.

About Apexigen, Inc.
Apexigen is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company discovering and developing a new generation of antibody therapeutics for oncology, with an emphasis on new immuno-oncology agents that could harness the patient’s immune system to combat and eradicate cancer. APX005M and the Company’s additional preclinical programs were discovered using APXiMAB^TM, Apexigen’s proprietary product discovery platform. This platform has enabled the Company and its collaboration partners to discover and develop high-quality therapeutic antibodies against a variety of molecular targets, including targets that are difficult to drug with conventional antibody technologies. Seven product candidates discovered using APXiMAB^TM are currently in clinical development, either internally by Apexigen or by its partners. For more information, please visit www.apexigen.com.

Apexigen Contact:
Mark Nevins
Vice President, Business Development
650-931-6236
mnevins@apexigen.com

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SOURCE Apexigen, Inc.