WALTHAM, Mass., April 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
AltaRex Corp. (AXO.TO, ALXFF.OTC) announced today that it conducted an oral
presentation on Sunday, April 21st at the Experimental Biology 2002 conference
in New Orleans, an American Association of Immunology sponsored event. Birgit
Schultes, Ph.D., Executive Director of Research at AltaRex, highlighted the
Company's most recent advances in establishing the role of its foreign
antibodies (specifically, OvaRex(R) and ProstaRex(TM)) in generating
beneficial anti-tumor immunity.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000831/ALTREXLOGO )
Researchers from AltaRex and the University of Maryland investigated the
trafficking and processing of tumor antigen and antibody-antigen complexes in
dendritic cells (antigen presenting cells) and further studied the impact of
the route of tumor antigen uptake on T cell activation. The experiments
demonstrate that the Company's foreign antibodies facilitate and modify tumor
antigen processing to trigger T cell immunity where, previously, immune
recognition to tumor antigen and tumor cells was not present. The Company
believes its results are novel and important findings in the development of
improved therapeutics that harness the cancer-killing abilities of the immune
system.
Notable findings from the presentation include:
Synergistic engagement of at least three different receptors on dendritic
cells lead to presentation of AltaRex foreign antibody-antigen immune
complexes simultaneously on MHC class I and II, thereby allowing the antigen
presenting cells to activate T helper and cytolytic T cells.
Binding of AltaRex foreign antibody-antigen immune complexes to dendritic
cells can induce upregulation of co-stimulatory molecules such as B7.1 and
B7.2 on the cell surface, a step that is necessary to engage with T cells and
induce activation rather than down-regulation of those T cells.
Circulating tumor antigen as well as tumor cells that have been killed by
irradiation or chemotherapy can function as a target for AltaRex's foreign
antibodies and can be presented preferentially to the immune system to induce
T cells that are capable of killing live tumor cells.
The foreign antibody technology developed by AltaRex is applicable to
multiple tumor targets.
The results presented at the Experimental Biology conference provide a
mechanistic understanding for induction of the T cell responses reported in
clinical trials with OvaRex(R) MAb. The findings highlight the promise of
using foreign antibodies as vaccines, either alone, as antibody-antigen
complexes, or as antibody-antigen complexes pulsed on dendritic cells ex vivo.
Of particular interest in these experiments is the demonstration that uptake
of AltaRex antibody-antigen complexes (as opposed to antigen uptake alone)
results in maturation of dendritic cells, a step considered crucial in the
production of both T help and cytolytic T cells.
AltaRex and United Therapeutics currently have two antibodies in clinical
development -- OvaRex(R) for ovarian cancer and BrevaRex(R), for which
clinical study in multiple myeloma is planned. Additional planned programs
include a PSA-specific antibody for use in prostate cancer, an antibody to
CA19.9 with application in gastric and pancreatic cancer, and a TAG-72
specific antibody for use in ovarian and related cancers.
AltaRex Corp. is focused on the research, development and
commercialization of antigen-targeted antibody-based therapies for life
threatening diseases utilizing foreign monoclonal antibodies as
immunotherapeutic agents. AltaRex has established proprietary expertise for
the use of antigen-binding agents, specifically foreign monoclonal antibodies,
to alter patients' immune system responses in a therapeutically beneficial
manner for conditions that include cancer, infectious diseases and autoimmune
diseases. OvaRex(R), BrevaRex(R), ProstaRex(R), GivaRex(R) and AR54 are being
developed in collaboration with United Therapeutics Corporation.
For more information about the Company, please visit the AltaRex website
at http://www.altarex.com.
This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks
and uncertainties, which may cause actual results to differ materially from
the statements made. For this purpose, any statements that are contained
herein that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-
looking statements. Without limiting the foregoing, the words "believes,"
"anticipates," "plans," "intends," "expects" and similar expressions are
intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties
include, but are not limited to our need for capital and the risk that the
Company can not raise funds on a timely basis on satisfactory terms or at all,
the need to obtain corporate alliances and the risk that the Company cannot
establish corporate alliances on a timely basis, on satisfactory terms, or at
all, changing market conditions, uncertainties regarding the timely and
successful completion of clinical trials, patient enrollment rates,
uncertainty of pre-clinical, retrospective, early and interim clinical trial
results, which may not be indicative of results that will be obtained in
ongoing or future clinical trials, whether the Company will file for
regulatory approval on a timely basis, uncertainties as to when, if at all,
the FDA will accept or approve the Company's regulatory filings for its
products, the need to establish and scale-up manufacturing processes,
uncertainty as to the timely development and market acceptance of the
Company's products, uncertainty as to whether patents will issue from pending
patent applications and, if issued, as to whether such patents will be
sufficiently broad to protect the Company's technology, and other risks
detailed from time-to-time in the Company's filings with the United States
Securities and Exchange Commission and Canadian securities authorities. The
Company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking
statement.
THE TORONTO STOCK EXCHANGE HAS NOT APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED OF THE
INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN
SOURCE AltaRex Corp.
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Related links:
http://www.altarex.com
Photo Notes:
NewsCom:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000831/ALTREXLOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org
PRN Photo Desk, 888-776-6555 or 212-782-2840
Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/gh/cnoc/comp/128163.html
CONTACT:
Sondra Henrichon, Investor
Relations/Corporate Communications of AltaRex, +1-781-672-0138,
ext. 1510, shenrichon@altarex.com
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