Stockholm, Sweden — Medivir AB (Nasdaq Stockholm: MVIR) today announces that MIV-828 has been nominated as a candidate drug (CD) for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and other hematological malignancies.
AML arises from cells in the bone marrow that are supposed to develop into normal white blood cells but become cancerous instead. These malignant cells build up in the bone marrow, preventing the development of normal blood cells. Many patients are unable to tolerate current therapies. The preclinical data indicate that MIV-828 may become a better tolerated and more effective medicine for patients with AML and other hematological cancers.
“Patients with AML are urgently in need of more effective and better tolerated drugs, and I strongly believe that MIV-828 has the potential to become a future cornerstone in the therapy of AML and related cancers,” said Dr Uli Hacksell, Medivir’s Chief Executive Officer. “I would also like to express my appreciation to Medivir’s outstanding research team for delivering yet another high quality candidate drug”.
For further information, please contact:
Uli Hacksell, CEO, Medivir AB, phone: +46 (0)8-5468 3100
Erik Björk, CFO, Medivir AB, mobile: +46 (0)72 228 2831
About acute myeloid leukemia (AML)
Around 20,000 US patients per year will develop AML. The prognosis is poor for many patients, such as the elderly, because they are often unable to tolerate the intensive treatments currently used to treat the disease. The average five-year survival rate of AML patients in the US was 27% in the period 2007-2013.
About MIV-828
MIV-828 is a nucleotide prodrug that has been optimised for the treatment of AML and other hematological malignancies such a myelodysplastic syndrome and T-cell lymphoma. It has been specifically designed to overcome key resistance mechanisms that can limit the effectiveness of other nucleoside analogues, e.g. cytarabine, that are currently used to treat AML.
About Medivir
Medivir is a pharmaceutical company with a focus on oncology. We have a leading competence within protease inhibitors and nucleotide/nucleosides and we are dedicated to innovative pharmaceuticals that meet great unmet medical needs. Medivir's clinical pipeline consists of remetinostat for cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, which has completed phase II, birinapant in combination with Keytruda® for solid tumors, currently in phase I, MIV-818, a nucleotide prodrug drug for liver cancer that recently entered into a phase I clinical trial, and MIV-711, a potentially disease-modifying osteoarthritis candidate drug with fresh and promising data from the recent phase II extension study. Medivir is listed on the Nasdaq Stockholm Mid Cap List (ticker: MVIR). www.medivir.com.