Stockholm, May 16, 2024 – Oncopeptides AB (publ) (Nasdaq Stockholm: ONCO), a biotech company focused on difficult-to-treat cancers, today announces that new scientific data on melflufen, branded in Europe as Pepaxti, has been accepted at the 10th annual World Congress on Controversies in Multiple Myeloma (COMy), to be held on May 23-26. The study, published by a team from institutions across Europe, including the University of Würzburg and the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland, focuses on the effectiveness of melflufen and shows promising results for the drug when treating patients with a particularly challenging form of multiple myeloma.

The study will be presented to congress attendees through an online oral presentation on May 26. The presentation will be given by Caroline Heckman, from the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland, Helsinki Institute of Life Science, iCAN Digital Precision Cancer Medicine Flagship at the University of Helsinki.

Multiple myeloma can be especially difficult to treat in patients who have specific genetic mutations or deletions, such as del(17p) and/or mutations in the TP53 gene. These genetic characteristics are associated with a poorer prognosis and shorter survival rates.

The research findings indicate that melflufen is more effective than traditional alkylating agents causing DNA damage and promoting the death of cancer cells lacking a functional so-called p53 protein, which is a common issue in high-risk multiple myeloma cases. The study also highlighted significant changes in gene expression that enhance the drug’s impact on cancer cells. Furthermore, patients with the del(17p) genetic abnormality treated with melflufen and dexamethasone showed a longer progression-free survival and higher overall response rate compared to those treated with pomalidomide and dexamethasone in the OP-103 OCEAN trial.

“These findings support the potential of melflufen as a valuable treatment option for patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, and it is encouraging to see that it has the potential to support patients who present high-risk genetic profiles,” says Stefan Norin, Chief Medical Officer at Oncopeptides. “The study underscores the ongoing need for therapies that address the specific challenges posed by genetic variations in cancer treatment.”

In addition to the above mentioned presentation, two posters will be presented at the congress. The first poster presents “The effect of transplant status on exposure-adjusted AE rates in melflufen-treated RRMM patients in a pooled safety population from 4 studies,” and the second poster outlines previously presented findings on the longer-term outcomes from the OCEAN study.

For more information, including questions and answers for investors, please visit Oncopeptides’ website. For more information about the Congress, please visit the COMy website.

For more information, please contact:
David Augustsson, Director of IR and Communications, Oncopeptides AB (publ)
E-mail: david.augustsson@oncopeptides.com
Cell phone: +46 76 229 38 68

About Oncopeptides
Oncopeptides is a biotech company focusing on research, development and commercialization of targeted therapies for difficult-to-treat cancers. The company uses its proprietary Peptide Drug Candidate platform (PDC) to develop compounds that rapidly and selectively deliver cytotoxic agents into cancer cells. 

Pepaxti® (melphalan flufenamide, also called melflufen) has been granted Marketing Authorization, in the European Union, the EEA-countries Iceland, Lichtenstein and Norway, as well as in the UK. Pepaxti is indicated in combination with dexamethasone for the treatment of adult patients with multiple myeloma who have received at least three prior lines of therapies, whose disease is refractory to at least one proteasome inhibitor, one immunomodulatory agent, and one anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody, and who have demonstrated disease progression on or after the last therapy. For patients with a prior autologous stem cell transplantation, the time to progression should be at least 3 years from transplantation.

Oncopeptides is developing several new compounds based on its proprietary technology platforms and is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm with the ticker ONCO. For more information see: www.oncopeptides.com

Attachments
Oncopeptides presents new data highlighting treatment benefits of Pepaxti in high-risk multiple myeloma patients at the COMy Congress

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