Erytech wins Deloitte Technology Fast 50 ‘Promising Biotech Award’ for France’s Grand Rhone-Alpes Region
Lyon (France), November 18th 2015 – ERYTECH Pharma (Euronext Paris: ERYP & OTC US: EYRYY), the French biopharmaceutical company that develops innovative ‘tumor starvation’ treatments for acute leukemia and other malignancies with unmet medical needs, announced today that it received Deloitte Technology Fast 50 award in the ‘Promising Biotech’ category for France’s Grand Rhone-Alpes region.
Created in 2001, the Deloitte Technology Fast 50 is a prominent award program for growing technology companies. ERYTECH Pharma received the ‘Promising Biotech’ award for achieving in 2014 the largest fund raise among biotech companies in the Grand Rhone-Alpes region. After ERYTECH’s IPO on Euronext Paris in 2013, the 30 million euros fund raise was completed in October 2014. It allowed the company to further and accelerate clinical developments, notably for the treatment of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). ERYTECH submitted in September 2015 a European Market Authorization Application for the treatment of patients with ALL.
‘We are very pleased to have won this ‘Promising Biotech’ award, which follows our EuropaBio award in 2014 for the most innovative European biotech company. It is a clear recognition for all the teams at ERYTECH of their efforts in the recent years. And certainly an additional encouragement to further develop our innovative therapies for the benefit of patients,’ commented Gil Beyen, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of ERYTECH.
Founded in Lyon, France in 2004, ERYTECH is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative therapies for rare forms of cancer and orphan diseases. Leveraging its proprietary ERYCAPS platform, which uses a novel technology to encapsulate therapeutic drug substances inside red blood cells, ERYTECH has developed a pipeline of product candidates targeting markets with high unmet medical needs. ERYTECH’s initial focus is on the treatment of blood cancers, including acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML), by depriving tumors of nutrients necessary for their survival. ERYTECH has recently announced positive efficacy and safety results from its completed Phase 2/3 pivotal clinical trial in Europe with its lead product candidate, ERY-ASP, also known under the trade name GRASPA®, in children and adults with relapsed or refractory ALL. ERYTECH also has an ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial of ERY-ASP in the United States in adults with newly diagnosed ALL, and a Phase 2 clinical trial in Europe evaluating GRASPA as a first-line therapy for the treatment of elderly patients with AML, each in combination with chemotherapy.
ERY-ASP consists of an enzyme, L-asparaginase, encapsulated inside donor-derived red blood cells. L-asparaginase depletes asparagine, a naturally occurring amino acid essential for the survival and proliferation of cancer cells, from circulating blood plasma.
Every year over 50,000 patients in Europe and the United States are diagnosed with ALL or AML. For about 80% of these patients, mainly adults and relapsing patients, current forms of L-asparaginase cannot be used due to their toxicity or as a result of allergic reactions. ERYTECH believes that the safety and efficacy profile of ERY-ASP/GRASPA®, as observed in its Phase 2/3 pivotal clinical trial, offers an attractive alternative option for the treatment of leukemia patients.
ERYTECH believes that ERY-ASP has the potential as a treatment approach in solid tumors and is conducting a Phase 2 clinical trial in Europe in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer. In addition to its current product candidates that focus on using encapsulated enzymes to induce tumor starvation, ERYTECH is exploring the use of its platform for developing cancer vaccines and enzyme replacement therapies.
The EMA and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have granted orphan drug designations for ERY- ASP/GRASPA for the treatment of ALL, AML and pancreatic cancer. ERYTECH produces ERY-ASP at its own GMP- approved and operational manufacturing site in Lyon (France), and at a site for clinical production in Philadelphia (USA). ERYTECH has entered into licensing and distribution partnership agreements for ERY-ASP for ALL and AML in Europe with Orphan Europe (Recordati Group), and for ALL in Israel with TEVA, which will market the product under the GRASPA® brand name.
ERYTECH is listed on Euronext regulated market in Paris (ISIN code: FR0011471135, ticker: ERYP) and is part of the CAC Healthcare, CAC Pharma & Bio, CAC Mid & Small, CAC All Tradable, EnterNext PEA-PME 150 and Next Biotech indexes. ERYTECH is also listed in the U.S. under an ADR level 1 program (OTC, ticker EYRYY).
Source: 4-traders.com
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