EMERYVILLE, Calif., Oct. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Bionovo, Inc. announced today that it will present the mechanism of action behind its anti-cancer agent, BZL101, which is currently undergoing Phase 1/2 clinical testing for late stage breast cancer, at the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics Conference being held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, CA, October 22 - 26, 2007.
Bionovo’s poster presentation will describe how BZL101 elicits its cytotoxic activity on cancer cells while avoiding normal cells. As explained by Dr. Emma Shtivelman, director of Cancer Research at Bionovo, “BZL101’s treatment of tumor cells leads to the inhibition of glycolysis, as is evident from the decrease in the activity of the enzymes within the glycolytic pathway and inhibition of lactate production. Because tumor cells usually rely on glycolysis for energy production, the observed inhibition of glycolysis is likely a key factor in the depletion of ATP and energetic collapse. Neither inhibition of glycolysis nor depletion of ATP stores are observed in normal cells treated with BZL101. These differences in the metabolic responses to BZL101 underlie the specific destruction of tumors but not normal cells.”
“BZL101 inhibits the energy resources of cancer cells, not allowing them to continue their cycle of growth and proliferation, while avoiding the same effect on normal cells,” said Dr. Isaac Cohen, chairman and CEO of Bionovo, “This selectivity is most likely relevant to the favorable toxicity profile of BZL101 recorded in the Phase 1 clinical trial. We hope the results of our current trials will lead to a safer, effective alternative for women with advanced breast cancer.”
About BZL101
BZL101 is an oral drug designed for the treatment of advanced breast cancer and pancreatic cancer with a novel mechanism of action. BZL101 targets diseased cells while leaving normal cells healthy and intact. Normal cells depend primarily on the citric acid cycle (>85%) and very little on glycolysis (<7%) for energy production. Cancer cells depend largely on glycolysis (>85%) for energy production. BZL101 stops the production cycle of energy in cancer cells by inhibiting glycolysis. This leads to DNA damage and cell death in cancer cells while normal cells remain unharmed.
BZL101 has completed early stage clinical testing and data from the Phase 1 trial of BZL101 conducted at the University of California, San Francisco and the Cancer Research Network in Plantation, Florida indicate that BZL101 has a favorable tolerability profile and demonstrates encouraging clinical activity in a heavily pretreated population. BZL101 is currently undergoing Phase 1/2 clinical testing for late stage metastatic breast cancer. Visit http://www.bzl101.com to find out more about BZL101.
About Bionovo, Inc.
Bionovo is a pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of safe and effective treatments for women’s health and cancer, markets with significant unmet needs and billions in potential annual revenue. The company applies its expertise in the biology of menopause and cancer to design new drugs derived from botanical sources which have novel mechanisms of action. Based on the results of early and mid-stage clinical trials, Bionovo believes they have discovered new classes of drug candidates within their rich pipeline with the potential to be leaders in their markets. Bionovo is headquartered in Emeryville, California and is traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol, “BNVI”. For more information about Bionovo and its programs, please visit http://www.bionovo.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This release contains certain forward-looking statements relating to the business of Bionovo, Inc. that can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “believes,” “expects,” or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including uncertainties relating to product development, efficacy and safety, regulatory actions or delays, the ability to obtain or maintain patent or other proprietary intellectual property protection, market acceptance, physician acceptance, third party reimbursement, future capital requirements, competition in general and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from those described herein as anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Certain of these risks and uncertainties are or will be described in greater detail in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available at http://www.sec.gov. Bionovo, Inc. is under no obligation (and expressly disclaims any such obligation) to update or alter its forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
CONTACT: Tom Chesterman, SVP & CFO, +1-510-420-4189,
tchesterman@bionovo.com, or Media, Katherina Audley, +1-415-847-7295,
katherina.audley@bionovo.com, both of Bionovo, Inc.
Web site: http://www.bionovo.com/
http://www.bzl101.com/
