SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 24, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- UNITY Biotechnology, Inc. (UNITY) [NASDAQ:UBX], a biotechnology company developing therapeutics to extend healthspan by slowing, halting or reversing diseases of aging, today announced that two abstracts summarizing recent studies on the role of senolytic medicine in knee osteoarthritis, including a late breaking abstract on the recent Phase 1b study of UBX-0101, have been accepted for presentation at the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 2019 Annual Meeting being held November 8-13, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Abstract Titles
Late-Breaking Abstracts ePoster: Safety, Tolerability, Pharmacokinetics, and Clinical Outcomes Following Single-Dose IA Administration of UBX0101, a Senolytic MDM2/p53 Interaction Inhibitor, in Patients with Knee OA
Session Title: Osteoarthritis – Clinical
Date: Tuesday, November 12, 2019
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. ET
Abstract: Senescent Synoviocytes in Knee Osteoarthritis Correlate with Disease Biomarkers, Synovitis, and Knee Pain
Session Title: Osteoarthritis & Joint Biology–Basic Science Poster
Date: Tuesday, November 12, 2019
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. ET
ACR Abstracts are available online at the conference website at https://acrabstracts.org. Once the poster session begins, posters will be available in the Investors section of UNITY Biotechnology’s website under Events and Presentations.
About UBX0101
UBX0101 is being evaluated for the treatment of musculoskeletal disease, with an initial focus on osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. UBX0101 is a senolytic small molecule inhibitor of the MDM2/p53 protein interaction. Disruption of this protein interaction can trigger the elimination of senescent cells. Initial results from a Phase 1 clinical trial in patients with moderate-to-severe OA of the knee were announced in June 2019. The study demonstrated that UBX0101 was well-tolerated. Improvement in several clinical measures, including pain and function, as well as modulation of certain senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) factors and disease-related biomarkers, was observed after a single dose of UBX0101.
About Osteoarthritis
OA is a degenerative disease that negatively impacts cartilage, subchondral bone and the synovial tissue lining the joint, causing pain and physical impairment. OA is a highly prevalent disease, symptomatically affecting as many as 10% to 15% of the world’s population over age 60, and results in a decline in quality of life. The most common joint affected by OA is the knee. Importantly, the current standard of care addresses only the symptoms of OA, which temporarily reduces joint inflammation and pain, but does not address the root cause of disease. UNITY believes that the accumulation of senescent cells is a significant contributing factor in OA and that the selective elimination of these cells may be therapeutic.
About UNITY
UNITY is developing therapeutics to extend healthspan by slowing, halting or reversing diseases of aging. UNITY's initial focus is on creating senolytic medicines to selectively eliminate senescent cells and thereby treat age-related diseases, such as osteoarthritis, eye diseases and pulmonary diseases. More information is available at www.unitybiotechnology.com or follow us on Twitter.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including: statements related to UNITY’s understanding of cellular senescence and the role cellular senescence plays in diseases of aging; UBX101’s potential to selectively eliminate senescent cells in patients with OA of the knee; and the potential benefits, activity, effectiveness and safety of UBX0101. These statements involve substantial known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from the information expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. We may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in our forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. Actual results or events could differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in the forward-looking statements we make. The forward-looking statements in this press release represent our views as of the date of this release. We anticipate that subsequent events and developments will cause our views to change. However, while we may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we have no current intention of doing so except to the extent required by applicable law. You should, therefore, not rely on these forward-looking statements as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this release. For a further description of the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from those expressed in these forward-looking statements, as well as risks relating to the business of the Company in general, see UNITY’s most recently filed Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2019, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 7, 2019, as well as other documents that may be filed by UNITY from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This press release concerns drug candidates that are under clinical investigation and which have not yet been approved for marketing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. They are currently limited by Federal law to investigational use, and no representation is made as to their safety or effectiveness for the purposes for which they are being investigated.