OXiGENE Announces Issuance of U.S. Patent for OXi4503 in Acute Myeloid Leukemia

OXiGENE, Inc. (Nasdaq: OXGN), a biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapies for the treatment of cancer, today announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted it a patent (U.S. Patent No. 9,040,500) related to the use of OXi4503 for the treatment of myeloid neoplasms, including acute myeloid leukemia (AML)."The granting of this U.S. patent is a notable achievement for OXiGENE and strengthens our program in AML, a potential orphan indication for which there is a great unmet need," said Bill Schwieterman, M.D., OXiGENE's President and CEO. "We are looking forward to starting a new company-sponsored Phase 1/2 clinical study of OXi4503 for this indication later this year, as we work to advance and strengthen our clinical pipeline."OXi4503 (combretastatin A1 di-phosphate) is a dual mechanism vascular disrupting agent (VDA) that has been observed to block and destroy tumor vasculature, resulting in extensive tumor cell death and necrosis. OXi4503 combines a VDA mechanism with cytotoxic activity. It is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1 investigator-sponsored study at the University of Florida in patients with relapsed and refractory AML and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). The study is also sponsored in part by The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Therapy Acceleration Program. OXiGENE is planning to initiate a Phase 1/2 trial of OXi4503 in patients with AML and MDS later this year.