Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals Announces Grant of New U.S. Patent Covering Sapacitabine

BERKELEY HEIGHTS, N.J., April 17, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. CYCC CYCCP; (Cyclacel or the Company), a biopharmaceutical company developing oral therapies that target the various phases of cell cycle control for the treatment of cancer and other serious disorders, today announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued U.S. Patent No. 8,124,593 ('593), which grants claims to a specified method of administration of sapacitabine, Cyclacel's lead drug candidate, with patent exclusivity until July 2030.

"The grant of the '593 patent is an important enhancement of sapacitabine's intellectual property estate. It extends existing composition of matter US patent protection and supports US market exclusivity out to 2030," said Spiro Rombotis, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cyclacel. "We are pursuing a broad intellectual property strategy providing us with a strong foundation to achieve our clinical and commercial objectives for sapacitabine and our other assets. As we continue to enroll SEAMLESS, our pivotal Phase 3 trial of sapacitabine as front-line treatment in elderly patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), we look forward to providing additional updates for sapacitabine this year, including Phase 2 data in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), AML preceded by MDS, and solid tumors."

The patent, titled "Methods of Treatment Using Sapacitabine", covers a method for treating proliferative diseases, including leukemia, MDS, solid tumors and lymphoma, by administering sapacitabine using 7-day or 14-day dosing regimens in a 21-day cycle. The method includes once daily or twice daily dosing. The 7-day dosing regimen is being used in ongoing Phase 2 studies of sapacitabine in second line MDS following previous treatment with one or more hypomethylating agents, in AML preceded by MDS and in Phase 1 solid tumor studies. In addition to currently granted patents claiming sapacitabine composition of matter and specific dosage regimens, Cyclacel has multiple sapacitabine-related patent applications at the national stage of prosecution according to our strategy of protecting novel medical uses, combination therapies, alternative dosage regimens, pharmaceutical forms and synthetic routes.

About sapacitabine

Sapacitabine (CYC682), an orally-available nucleoside analogue, is currently being evaluated in SEAMLESS, a registration-directed, Phase 3 trial in elderly patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML), Phase 2 trials in patients with hematological malignancies, including myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and in a Phase 1 trial in combination with seliciclib in patients with advanced solid tumors. Sapacitabine acts through a novel DNA single-strand breaking mechanism, leading to production of DNA double- strand breaks (DSBs) and/or checkpoint activation. Unrepaired DSBs cause cell death. Repair of sapacitabine-induced DSBs is dependent on the homologous recombination DNA repair (HRR) pathway. Both sapacitabine and CNDAC, its major metabolite, have demonstrated potent anti-tumor activity in preclinical studies.

Over 350 patients have received sapacitabine in Phase 2 studies in AML, MDS, CTCL and NSCLC. Sapacitabine has been administered to approximately 170 patients in five Phase 1 studies with both hematological malignancies and solid tumors. In December 2009 at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), Cyclacel reported data from a randomized Phase 2, single-agent study of sapacitabine including promising 1-year survival in elderly patients with AML aged 70 years or older. In June 2011 at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), Cyclacel reported data from a pilot Phase 1/2 study including promising response rate, low 4-week and 8-week mortality in elderly patients with AML aged 70 years or older receiving sapacitabine alternating with decitabine. The FDA and the European Medicines Agency have designated sapacitabine as an orphan drug for the treatment of both AML and MDS. Sapacitabine is part of Cyclacel's pipeline of small molecule drugs designed to target and stop uncontrolled cell division.

About Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Cyclacel is a biopharmaceutical company developing oral therapies that target the various phases of cell cycle control for the treatment of cancer and other serious diseases. Sapacitabine (CYC682), an orally-available, cell cycle modulating, nucleoside analogue, is in the SEAMLESS Phase 3 trial being conducted under an SPA with the FDA for the front-line treatment of AML in the elderly and Phase 2 studies for myelodysplastic syndromes, lung cancer and chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Seliciclib (CYC202 or R-roscovitine), an orally-available, CDK (cyclin dependent kinase) inhibitor, is in Phase 2 studies for the treatment of lung cancer and nasopharyngeal cancer and in a Phase 1 trial in combination with sapacitabine. Cyclacel's ALIGN Pharmaceuticals subsidiary markets directly in the U.S. Xclair® Cream for radiation dermatitis, Numoisyn® Liquid and Numoisyn® Lozenges for xerostomia. Cyclacel's strategy is to build a diversified biopharmaceutical business focused in hematology and oncology based on a portfolio of commercial products and a development pipeline of novel drug candidates. Please visit www.cyclacel.com for additional information. 

Forward-looking Statements

This news release contains certain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to be materially different from historical results or from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include statements regarding, among other things, the efficacy, safety and intended utilization of Cyclacel's product candidates, the conduct and results of future clinical trials, plans regarding regulatory filings, future research and clinical trials and plans regarding partnering activities. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially include the risk that product candidates that appeared promising in early research and clinical trials do not demonstrate safety and/or efficacy in larger-scale or later clinical trials, trials may have difficulty enrolling, Cyclacel may not obtain approval to market its product candidates, the risks associated with reliance on outside financing to meet capital requirements, and the risks associated with reliance on collaborative partners for further clinical trials, development and commercialization of product candidates. You are urged to consider statements that include the words "may," "will," "would," "could," "should," "believes," "estimates," "projects," "potential," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "intends," "continues," "forecast," "designed," "goal," or the negative of those words or other comparable words to be uncertain and forward-looking. For a further list and description of the risks and uncertainties the Company faces, please refer to our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and other periodic and other filings we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission and are available at www.sec.gov. Such forward-looking statements are current only as of the date they are made, and we assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

© Copyright 2012 Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Cyclacel logo and Cyclacel® are trademarks of Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Numoisyn® and Xclair® are trademarks of Sinclair Pharma plc.