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Baltimore, MD | Wednesday, September 08, 2010

Champions Biotechnology Announces Agreement with Cephalon for the Evaluation of a Novel Oncology Compound using Predictive Biomerk Tumorgraft™ Platform

Oct 23 2011 5:15 PM

Champions Biotechnology, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: CSBR), an oncology drug development company with a predictive preclinical platform aimed at accelerating the development and enhancing the value of oncology drugs, announced the establishment of an agreement with Cephalon, Inc., a global biopharmaceutical company for the testing of the Cephalon novel B-Raf inhibitor CEP-32496 in Champions’ Biomerk Tumorgraft™ platform.  B-Raf, a protein kinase, is a key part of a signaling pathway in the cell that leads to cell proliferation. A mutation in B-Raf is implicated in a wide-range of cancers, including melanoma, colorectal and ovarian cancer.

Under the terms of the agreement, Champions will use its Biomerk Tumorgraft™ to test the effectiveness of CEP-32496 in various cancer indications. “We are delighted to add Cephalon to Champions’ client list.  The preclinical use of our highly-predictive Biomerk Tumorgraft™ platform will enable a greater understanding of the clinical potential of CEP-32496,” said Elizabeth Bruckheimer, Ph.D., Vice President of Scientific Operations, Champions Biotechnology, Inc.

Bruce Ruggeri, PhD, Senior Director, Oncology Research Drug Discovery at Cephalon stated, “We are excited to work with Champions. These results may be critical in appropriately designing clinical trials to further support the development of this compound.”

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.