BERLIN--(Marketwire - June 22, 2012) -
MagForce AG / MagForce enters into preclinical research agreement to
investigate NanoTherm®
therapy in the gastrointestinal cancer field in the USA
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· Goal is to achieve preclinical proof-of-concept in pancreatic and
liver
Cancer
· First important milestone to set up a clinical development
program with Key
Opinion Leaders of the Mayo Clinic and throughout the US
· A previous pilot study conducted at the Charité, Berlin, has
shown
feasibility for NanoTherm® therapy in patients with pancreatic cancer
MagForce AG (Frankfurt, XETRA: MF6), a leading
medical device company in the field of nanomedicine with focus on oncology,
announced today that the Company has entered into a pre-clinical research
agreement with Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN), a leading US medical center.
Under the terms of the agreement, Mayo Clinic will start a research program
applying MagForce's NanoTherm® therapy to investigate the preclinical
efficacy
of the therapy in pancreatic and liver cancer. The project will be directed
by
Dev Mukhopadhyay, Professor of Biochemistry/Molecular Biology, and the
study
will be funded by Mayo Clinic. The goal of the project is to achieve
preclinical
proof-of-concept in order to file the clinical development program
supporting
the FDA PMA (FDA premarket approval) of the NanoTherm® therapy in
these
indications.
"Pancreatic cancer is one of the most aggressive diseases in oncology,
ranking
fourth among the tumor related causes of death. It is mostly recognized in
a
late and advanced status and consequently called "the silent killer". Due
to the
poor overall survival rates and the severe side effects of
chemotherapeutics,
the current standard of care, this disease is an enormous challenge in
oncology.
With approximately 32,000 new cases annually in the US alone there is a
very
high medical need to develop new therapeutic options for the treatment of
these
desperate patients," said Prof Dr Hoda Tawfik, Vice President R&D/Medical
Affairs at MagForce. "In a pilot study MagForce could show the feasibility
of
the use of its NanoTherm® therapy in pancreatic cancer patients with
first hints
of activity. I am delighted that we are now teaming up with the highly
prestigious cancer center Mayo Clinic to achieve preclinical
proof-of-concept in
pancreatic and liver cancer with our innovative technology. A positive
outcome
of this new project would be the first important milestone to set up a
clinical
development program in gastrointestinal cancer in cooperation with medical
key
opinion leaders throughout the United States," added Prof Dr Hoda Tawfik.
This research agreement is a significant step in engaging the US medical
community in the development of the NanoTherm® Therapy," added Dr
Andreas
Jordan, Executive Board and Founder of MagForce.
About MagForce AG
MagForce AG is a leading medical technology company in the field of
nanomedicine
in oncology. The Company's proprietary, NanoTherm® therapy, enables
the targeted
treatment of solid tumors through the intratumoral generation of heat via
activation of magnetic nanoparticles. NanoTherm®, NanoPlan®, and
NanoActivator™ are components of the therapy and have received EU-wide
regulatory approval as medical devices for the treatment of brain tumors.
MagForce, NanoTherm®, NanoPlan®, and NanoActivator™ are
trademarks of
MagForce AG in select countries. For more information, please visit
www.magforce.com.
About NanoTherm® Therapy
The NanoTherm® therapy is a new approach for the local treatment of
solid
tumors. The principle of the method is the direct introduction of magnetic
nanoparticles into a tumor and their subsequent heating in an alternating
magnetic field. The water soluble nanoparticles are extremely small
(approximately 15 nanometers in diameter), and contain an iron oxide core
with
an aminosilane coating. The particles are activated by a magnetic field
that
changes its polarity 100,000 times per second and heat is produced.
Depending on
the duration of treatment and the achieved intratumoral temperatures, the
tumor
cells are either directly destroyed (thermal ablation) or sensitized for
concomitant chemo or radiotherapy (hyperthermia). With this new procedure,
it is
possible to combat the tumor from the inside out, thereby sparing
surrounding
healthy tissue. The nanoparticles remain in place at the treatment area,
allowing for repeat treatments and the integration of multimodal therapy
concepts. NanoTherm® therapy has regulatory approval in 27 European
countries.
Disclaimer
This release may contain forward-looking statements and information which
may be
identified by formulations using terms such as "expects", "aims",
"anticipates",
"intends", "plans", "believes", "seeks", "estimates" or "will". Such
forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and
certain
assumptions, which may be subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties.
The
results actually achieved by MagForce AG may substantially differ from
these
forward-looking statements. MagForce AG assumes no obligation to update
these
forward-looking statements or to correct them in case of developments,
which
differ from those, anticipated.
MagForce_Press Release_Mayo Clinic_June 22, 2012:
http://hugin.info/143761/R/1621460/518166.pdf
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Source: MagForce AG via Thomson Reuters ONE
[HUG#1621460]
