SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., May 23, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Portola Pharmaceuticals Inc.® (NASDAQ:PTLA) today announced that the full data set from the Phase 3 APEX Study of betrixaban will be featured in an oral session at the 62nd Annual Scientific and Standardization Committee (SSC) Meeting of the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH), which will take place from May 25-28 in Montpellier, France. Additionally, new data from pharmacokinetic and mechanism of action studies of the Company’s Factor Xa inhibitor antidote AndexXaTM (andexanet alfa) will be presented in poster sessions.

Portola will host an investor event, which will be webcast, on Friday, May 27, at 5:00 p.m. CEST following the APEX data presentation at the ISTH SSC Meeting. Members of Portola’s senior management team and Dr. C. Michael Gibson, member of the APEX Executive Committee, and Dr. Alexander (Ander) T. Cohen, co-principal investigator of the APEX Study, will present and discuss the full APEX Study results.

The abstracts are now available at https://www.isth.org/mpage/2016ProgramGlance. Following are details of the presentations, which will include additional data not available in the posted abstracts.

Betrixaban Oral Presentation Details

  • Abstract Title (abstract #242): VTE prevention in acutely ill medical patients with extended duration betrixaban – a multicenter, randomized, active-controlled efficacy and safety study comparing extended duration betrixaban with standard of care enoxaparin
    Presenting Author: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D., professor of medicine, Harvard Medical School, PERFUSE Study Group, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
    Session Title: Control of Anticoagulation, Part 1
    Presentation Date and Time: Friday, May 27, 2:30 p.m. CEST
    Location: Le Corum Conference Centre, Einstein Room

AndexXa (andexanet alfa) Poster Presentation Details

  • Abstract Title (abstract #CA08): The effect of andexanet alfa on the pharmacokinetics and renal clearance of the direct Factor Xa inhibitors apixaban, rivaroxaban, edoxaban and betrixaban
    Presenting Author: Janet M. Leeds, Ph.D., Senior Director, Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics, Portola Pharmaceuticals
    Session Title: Poster Session and Networking
    Presentation Date and Time: Wednesday, May 25, 7:00-9:00 p.m. CEST 
    Location: Le Corum Conference Centre, Joffre 1-3  
  • Abstract Title (abstract #CA53): Comparing mechanisms of action of novel anticoagulant reversal agents through studies on binding partners and on clot formation and clot structure
    Presenting Author: Charles Haynes, Ph.D., professor at the University of British Columbia, Centre for Blood Research and Michael Smith Labs, Vancouver
    Session Title: Poster Session and Networking
    Presentation Date and Time: Wednesday, May 25, 7:00-9:00 p.m. CEST 
    Location: Le Corum Conference Centre, Joffre 1-3

Investor Event Webcast Information
The investor event will take place from 5:00-6:00 p.m. CEST/11 a.m.-12 p.m. EDT on May 27 and will be simultaneously webcast. To access the live and subsequently archived webcast, go to the Investor Relations section of the company's website at http://investors.portola.com. A replay will be available for 30 days following the live event.

About Betrixaban
Portola is developing betrixaban, an oral Factor Xa inhibitor anticoagulant, for the prevention of venous thromboembolism (VTE), or blood clots, in acute medically ill patients. Betrixaban directly inhibits the activity of Factor Xa, an important validated target in the blood coagulation pathway, to prevent life-threatening thrombosis.

The Phase 3 APEX (Acute Medically Ill VTE Prevention with Extended Duration Betrixaban) Study evaluated the superiority of extended-duration anticoagulation with oral betrixaban compared with standard of care anticoagulation with injectable enoxaparin for the prevention of VTE in acute medically ill patients. APEX enrolled 7,513 patients at more than 450 clinical sites worldwide. Portola announced topline data from the APEX Study on March 24, 2016.

About AndexXa (andexanet alfa)
Portola is developing AndexXa, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-designated Breakthrough Therapy, for patients treated with a direct or indirect Factor Xa inhibitor when reversal of anticoagulation is needed, such as for life-threatening or uncontrolled bleeding or emergency surgery and urgent procedures.

AndexXa, an investigational drug, is a modified human Factor Xa molecule that acts as a decoy to target and sequester with high specificity both oral and injectable Factor Xa inhibitors in the blood. Once bound, the Factor Xa inhibitors are unable to bind to and inhibit native Factor Xa, thus allowing for the restoration of normal hemostatic processes. AndexXa is the only compound being studied as an antidote for Factor Xa inhibitors that directly and specifically corrects anti-Factor Xa activity – the anticoagulant mechanism of these agents.

About Portola Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Portola Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company developing product candidates that could significantly advance the fields of thrombosis and other hematologic diseases. The Company is advancing three programs, including betrixaban, an oral, once-daily Factor Xa inhibitor; AndexXa (andexanet alfa), a recombinant protein designed to reverse the anticoagulant effect in patients treated with an oral or injectable Factor Xa inhibitor; and cerdulatinib, a Syk/JAK inhibitor in development to treat hematologic cancers. Portola's partnered program is focused on developing selective Syk inhibitors for inflammatory conditions. For more information, visit www.portola.com and follow the Company on Twitter @Portola_Pharma.

Investor Contact:
Ana Kapor
Portola Pharmaceuticals
ir@portola.com

Media Contact:
Julie Normart
W2O Group
jnormart@w2ogroup.com

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