AGOURA HILLS, California, Oct. 12, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mateon Therapeutics, Inc. (OTCQB: MATN) (“Mateon”), a leading developer of TGF-β therapeutics for oncology and COVID-19, today announced that Dr. Vuong Trieu, President and CEO of Mateon, will present a company overview and host one-on-one meetings during the 2020 BIO Investor Forum Digital, being held virtually October 13 – 15, 2020. The Company’s presentation will be available on demand for BIO Investor Forum attendees and on our websites (www.mateon.com and www.oncotelic.com).
About ArtiShieldTM
The company previous announced the first patient enrolled in its Phase IV study ARTI-19. This is a global study with the total aggregate of 3000 pts. The study evaluates the safety and efficacy of ArtiShieldTM in the treatment of adults with COVID-19. Top-line data from ARTI-19 is expected by end of 4Q20. The drug product- ArtiShieldTM- is approved for manufacturing and sales by Indian Ministry of AYUSH.
Artemisinin the active component of ArtiShieldTM is able to inhibit TGF β activity and is able to neutralize SARS CoV 2 (COVID 19) in vitro at an EC50 of 0.45 ug/ml (based on Mateon’s test result at Utah State University), and a Safety Index of 140, which is better than remdesivir. This finding was later on independently confirmed by:
- Cao R, Hu H, Li Y, et al. Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Potential of Artemisinins In Vitro. ACS Infect Dis. 2020;6(9):2524-2531. doi:10.1021/acsinfecdis.0c00522; and
- Gilmore, K. et al. (2020). In vitro efficacy of Artemisinin-based treatments against SARS-CoV-2. bioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.10.05.326637.
ArtiShieldTM is being manufactured by Windlas Biotech Private Limited. Windlas is a 20-year-old company with large scale manufacturing facilities in India employing more than 1500 employees and is the 5th largest Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) serving pharma companies across the world.
About ARTI-19 India
ARTI-19 in India is a “A Prospective, Randomized, Multi-center, Open label, Interventional Study to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of Artemisinin 500 mg capsule in Treatment of Adult Subjects with COVID-19”. This trial will compare the efficacy of oral doses with standard-of-care (SOC) versus SOC alone. Oral administration of Artemisia absinthium Powder 500mg capsule/day for 5 days with SOC per cycle with the option to repeat as needed until disease is resolved or subject is discharged, up to a total of consecutive 3 cycles (“5 days treatment, 5 days off"). SOC is standard-of-care as per Clinical Management Protocol: COVID-19, Government of India Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Directorate General of Health Services (EMR Division). Safety is defined as: 1) Adverse events (AEs) during the study and 2) Serious adverse events (SAEs) during the study. Efficacy is defined as: 1) Relief in the sign and symptoms of COVID-19 as per WHO Clinical Progression Scale and 2) Relief in the sign and symptoms of COVID-19 per the Duration of Symptoms.
About COVID-19 in India
India's COVID-19 death toll has surged to more than 100,000 and is on track to exceed the US. India's new cases detected per day are more than double the daily average of the United States and Brazil. The country now has greater than 6.7 million total cases of coronavirus, including approximately 935,000 active cases and almost 5.6 million recoveries (link for data: https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/74-442-new-coronavirus-cases-in-india-total-cases-over-66-lakh-903-deaths-in-24-hours-1-02-lakh-total-deaths-2305128)
About Mateon Therapeutics
Mateon was created by the recent reverse merger with Oncotelic, which became a wholly owned subsidiary of Mateon, thereby creating an immuno-oncology company dedicated to the development of first in class RNA therapeutics as well as small molecule drugs against cancer and infectious diseases. OT-101, the lead immuno-oncology drug candidate of Mateon/Oncotelic, is a first-in-class anti-TGF-βRNA therapeutic that exhibited single agent activity in some relapsed/refractory cancer patients in clinical trial settings. OT-101 also has activity against SARS-CoV-2. Mateon/Oncotelic is seeking to leverage its deep expertise in oncology drug development to improve treatment outcomes and survival of cancer patients with a special emphasis on rare pediatric cancers. Mateon has rare pediatric designation for DIPG (OT-101), melanoma (CA4P), and AML (OXi4503). For more information, please visit www.oncotelic.com and www.mateon.com.
Mateon's Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this communication regarding strategy, future operations, future financial position, prospects, plans and objectives of management are forward-looking statements. Words such as “may”, “expect”, “anticipate” “hope”, “vision”, “optimism”, “design”, “exciting”, “promising”, “will”, “conviction”, "estimate," "intend," "believe", “quest for a cure of cancer”, “innovation-driven”, “paradigm-shift”, “high scientific merit”, “impact potential” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements about future plans, the progress, timing, clinical development, scope and success of future clinical trials, the reporting of clinical data for the company’s product candidates and the potential use of the company’s product candidates to treat various cancer indications. Each of these forward-looking statements involves risks and uncertainties and actual results may differ materially from these forward-looking statements. Many factors may cause differences between current expectations and actual results, including unexpected safety or efficacy data observed during preclinical or clinical studies, clinical trial site activation or enrollment rates that are lower than expected, changes in expected or existing competition, changes in the regulatory environment, failure of collaborators to support or advance collaborations or product candidates and unexpected litigation or other disputes. These risks are not exhaustive, the company faces known and unknown risks, including the risk factors described in the company’s annual report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on April 10, 2019 and in the company’s other periodic filings. Forward-looking statements are based on expectations and assumptions as of the date of this press release. Except as required by law, the company does not assume any obligation to update forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in expectations, whether as a result of new information future events, or otherwise.
Contact Information:
For Mateon Therapeutics, Inc.:
Amit Shah
ashah@oncotelic.com