Open Monoclonal Technology and ARMO BioSciences Announce

REDWOOD CITY and PALO ALTO, Calif., Oct. 15, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ARMO BioSciences, Inc. (ARMO), a leading developer of immuno-oncology therapeutics and Open Monoclonal Technology, Inc. (OMT), announced today a licensing agreement providing ARMO with exclusive rights to OMT’s Programmed Cell Death Protein 1 (PD-1) assets as well as unlimited access to OMT’s proprietary OmniRat^®, OmniMouse^® and OmniFlic™ human antibody generation platforms.

“This is an important transaction for ARMO as we transition to our next stage of corporate growth. In particular, securing a PD-1 targeting agent provides us with a complete, efficient and cost-effective combination therapy solution for our next generation cytokine therapies,” commented Peter Van Vlasselaer, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of ARMO BioSciences.

The addition of an anti-PD-1 program to ARMO’s pipeline of cytokine immunotherapies reinforces the company’s commitment to the development of safe and effective treatments for cancer. ARMO’s clinical stage PEGylated form of recombinant human IL-10, known as AM0010, and anti-PD-1 antibodies work through complementary but distinct mechanisms on CD8+ T cells so the combination maximizes the activation, proliferation and survival of intratumoral, tumor-reactive, cytotoxic CD8+ T cells, which are considered to be central to clinical response. In ongoing clinical studies, AM0010 has already shown activity as a monotherapy and in combination with anti-PD-1 agents in immune-sensitive tumors such as melanoma, RCC, NSCLC and others not previously thought to be sensitive to immunotherapy such as colorectal and pancreatic cancers. Early results from these trials are suggestive of AM0010’s role in augmenting activated tumor infiltrating T cells and PD-1 expression, thereby bestowing anti-PD-1 sensitivity on tumors, including those that had been refractory to anti-PD-1 treatment.

Dr. Roland Buelow, OMT founder and CEO, said, “ARMO’s focus on discovery and development of novel therapies based on proprietary insights of dysregulated immune responses in cancer and atherosclerotic, fibrotic and inflammatory diseases are particularly amenable to human therapeutic antibodies. We are pleased to enable ARMO to access both OMT’s anti-PD1 antibodies and mono- and bi-specific antibody platforms to further the company’s therapeutic objectives.”

About ARMO BioSciences, Inc.

Founded in 2012, ARMO Biosciences is a clinical stage developer of immuno-therapeutics focused on the oncology space and is anchored by its platform molecule AM0010, a PEGylated form of recombinant human IL-10. The company has a unique approach to developing therapeutic cytokines that are complimentary to other immune-oncology therapeutics and standard of care drugs. ARMO plans to imminently initiate registration enabling phase 2/3 studies for AM0010 in multiple solid tumors. In addition to the lead programs addressing cancer, the company has a robust R&D platform with preclinical and clinical molecules for the treatment of fibrosis, hypercholesterolemia/atherosclerosis and inflammatory diseases. ARMO is backed by investors Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, OrbiMed, DAG Ventures, and NanoDimension.

For more information, please visit www.armobio.com or contact Scott Ogg, Vice President of Corporate Development and Operations, at +1-650-779-5082 or scott.ogg@armobio.com.

About Open Monoclonal Technology, Inc.

Open Monoclonal Technology, Inc. (OMT) is a leader in genetic engineering of animals for the generation of human therapeutic antibodies, naturally optimized human antibodies^®, and the only company in the world with four transgenic animal platforms, jointly known as OmniAb^™.

OmniRat^® is the industry’s first human monoclonal antibody technology based on rats. It has a complete immune system with a diverse antibody repertoire and generates antibodies with human idiotypes as well as wild-type animals make rat antibodies. OmniMouse^® is a transgenic mouse that complements OmniRat and expands epitope coverage. OmniFlic^™ is an engineered rat with a fixed light chain for development of bispecific, fully human antibodies. UniRat^™ is the first transgenic rat generating fully human heavy chain-only antibodies and nanobodies for polyspecific applications.

All four OmniAb™ platforms deliver human antibodies with high affinity, specificity, expression, solubility and stability. They use patented technology, have broad freedom to operate, and are available worldwide for all targets and indications.

Current partners include Amgen, ARMO Biosciences, Caltech, Celgene, Chugai, Five Prime, Genmab, Genentech, Gloria, HanAll, Janssen, Merck KGaA, Pfizer, Roche, Symphogen, University of Nottingham and several undisclosed biotech and pharmaceutical companies. Animal hosting and OmniAb antibody discovery services are available via Antibody Solutions and Sage Labs in the US, Aldevron and Taconic Biosciences in Europe, and WuXi AppTec in China.

For more information, please visit www.omtinc.net or contact Brian Lundstrom, Chief Business Officer, at +1-775-420-7750 or bl@omtinc.net.

Open Monoclonal Technology and ARMO BioSciences Announce Anti-PD1 Antibody and OmniAb(TM) Platform License Agreement