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Baltimore, MD | Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Champions Biotechnology Partners with Gradalis Inc. and Mary Crowley Cancer Research Center to Develop Personalized Vaccines for Cancer Patients

Oct 25 2011 10:41 AM

Champions Biotechnology, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: CSBR), a company engaged in the development of advanced preclinical platforms and tumor specific data to enhance the value of oncology drugs, has established a collaboration with Gradalis Inc. and Mary Crowley Cancer Research Center (MCCRC). The team will seek an Investigational New Drug (IND) permission from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to utilize Champions Biotechnology’s Biomerk Tumorgraft™ technology to develop personalized vaccines for cancer patients. Each vaccine is engineered to treat the patient’s specific cancer because it is developed from the patient’s own tumor.

“The close correlation between Biomerk Tumorgrafts™ and the human tumor they are derived from provide the basis for our predictive preclinical platform. This technology also enables us, in collaboration with Gradalis, to develop personalized vaccines for cancer patients,” said Doug Burkett, Ph.D., President of Champions Biotechnology, Inc. “Personalized vaccines offer a novel treatment option that is customized to each individual’s unique cancer but can rarely be produced due to insufficient cells from accessible tumor tissue. We are pleased to enter into this agreement with Gradalis and MCCRC that leverages the value of our unique platform.”

Under the terms of the agreement Gradalis Inc. will work toward the IND that is required to begin administering the individualized vaccine to patients at MCCRC in a Phase I clinical trial. Champions Biotechnology anticipates that the collaboration will result in a new, near term option for the growing number of physicians that are taking advantage of the Company’s Personalized Oncology services and a significant opportunity for the Company in any future commercialization of the technology.

For more information regarding Champions Biotechnology’s growing business and recent news, please visit www.championsbiotechnology.com.

About MCCRC

The Mary Crowley Cancer Research Center is a national leader in cancer research with a clearly defined program and commitment to excellence to dramatically alter strategies of cancer treatment. MCCRC’s mission is to pioneer personalized options for all cancer patients through gene-targeted therapies, cell based therapies, and vaccines.

Mary Crowley is dedicated to achieving a paradigm shift in cancer care, in which personalized molecular medicine will ultimately transform the way patients are treated. Mary Crowley, through research focus and a patient-centric care model, has implemented over 140 FDA approved clinical trials, with more than 300 investigational agents, resulting in hundreds of peer-reviewed publications. Thousands of patients have participated in investigational studies at Mary Crowley.

About Gradalis Inc.

Gradalis is a vertically integrated biotechnology company committed to developing core technologies and delivering therapeutics that offer safer and more effective treatments for cancer, muscular dystrophy and

other critical illnesses. From the discovery and research phase to development and commercialization, Gradalis is accelerating a pipeline of breakthrough therapies that will transform the lives of the patients who need them.

About Champions Oncology, Inc.

Champions Oncology, Inc. (formerly Champions Biotechnology, Inc) is engaged in the development of advanced technology solutions and services to personalize the development and use of oncology drugs. The Company’s Tumorgraft™ Technology Platform is a novel approach to personalizing cancer care based upon the implantation of primary human tumors in immune deficient mice followed by propagation of the resulting engraftments, or Tumorgrafts™, in a manner that preserves the biological characteristics of the original human tumor. The Company uses this technology in conjunction with related services to offer solutions for two customer groups: Personalized Oncology Solutions (“POS”) in which physicians and patients looking for information help guide the development of personalized treatment plans, and Translational Oncology Solutions (“TOS”) in which pharmaceutical and biotech companies seeking personalized approaches to drug development can lower the cost and increase the speed of developing new drugs and increasing the adoption of existing drugs. The Company’s Tumorgraft™ Technology Platform consists of processes, physical tumors and information that we use to personalize the development and use of oncology drugs. The Company is building its Tumorgraft™ Technology Platform through the procurement, development and characterization of numerous Tumorgrafts™ within each of several cancer types. Tumorgrafts™ are procured through agreements with a number of institutions in the U.S. and overseas as well as through its POS business. The Tumorgrafts™ are developed and tested through agreement with a United States-based preclinical facility.

The Company provides POS to oncologists by establishing and administering expert tumor panels for their patients to analyze medical records and test results, to assist in understanding conventional and experimental options and to identify and arrange for testing, analysis and study of the patients’ cancer tissues, as appropriate. Additionally, the Company offers Personalized Tumorgraft™ development, drug studies and genome sequencing as part of its POS whereby physicians can evaluate the effects of cancer drugs on their patients’ tumorgrafts and understand the genetic make-up of their patient’s tumor enabling them to better select treatment regimens that may be efficacious to the patient

This press release may contain “forward-looking statements” (within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Act of 1995) that inherently involve risk and uncertainties. Champions Oncology generally uses words such as “believe,” “may,” “could,” “will,” “intend,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “plan,” and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. One should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The Company’s actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements for many unforeseen factors. See Champions Oncology’s Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2011 for a discussion of such risks, uncertainties and other factors. Although the Company believes the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, they relate only to events as of the date on which the statements are made, and Champions Oncology’s future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements may not meet these expectations. The Company does not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release to conform these statements to actual results or to changes in Champions Oncology’s expectations, except as required by law.

References:

  1. Hidalgo M et al. Activity of gemcitabine in direct patient derived xenografts predicts clinical outcome: validation of an in vivo model for drug development. J Clin Oncol 27:15s, 2009 (suppl; abstr 4528)
  2. Hidalgo M et al. A Pilot Study of Treatment Guided by Personalized Tumorgrafts in Patients with Advanced Cancer. Mol Cancer Ther August 2011 10:1311-1316
  3. Rubio-Viqueira B, Jimeno A, Cusatis G, et al. An in vivo platform for translational drug development in pancreatic cancer. Clin Cancer Res. 2006;12:4652-4661.
  4. Champions data on file.