AGOURA HILLS, Calif., Feb. 06, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Oncotelic Therapeutics, Inc (OTCQB:OTLC) ("Oncotelic", the "Company" or "We"), a developer of treatments for rare and orphan indications, including Parkinson's Disease, PDAC, DIPG, and COVID-19, today announced the initiation of its second investigator initiated studies (IIS) in a series of planned clinical studies.

We have submitted to US FDA a protocol for the study with approximately 30 patients with non-small cell lung cancer in collaboration with the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and a large pharmaceutical company in the field of immuno-oncology (IO). The study will be combining our oligodeoxynucleotide OT-101 and a US FDA approved anti-PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitor.

Near term, the Company is planning to initiate up to 7 clinical studies in various oncology indications along with ‘Centers of Excellence’ and major pharmaceutical companies. The first trial as noted in a prior press release is planned to be in patients with metastatic pleural mesothelioma.

All studies will be assessing the tumor response to various combination studies assessing pre and post therapeutic biopsies measuring close to 800 genes, changes in phenotype and functionality, cytokines, suppressive immune cells; and their spatial distribution within the tumor.

“These studies are the result of careful planning with our collaborators in order to ensure the rigor and thorough assessment of changes within the tumor microenvironment resulting from combination immune-therapy and immune-oncology modalities” said Dr. Anthony Maida, Chief Clinical Officer – Translational Medicine.

For more information on the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and how you or someone you know can enroll in a trial, please visit: https://www.fredhutch.org/en/research/clinical-trials.html

About OT-101

OT-101, is a first-in-class anti-TGF-β2 RNA therapeutic that exhibited single agent activity in some relapsed/refractory cancer patients in clinical trial settings. HGGs are characterized by a T-cell exhaustion signature and pronounced T-cell hypo responsiveness of their tumor microenvironment ("TME"). TGF-β2 has been implicated as a key contributor to the immunosuppressive landscape of the TME in HGG. OT-101 is designed to abrogate the immunosuppressive actions of TGF- β2. In a completed Phase 2 clinical study, OT-101 exhibited clinically meaningful single-agent activity and induced durable complete and partial responses in recurrent and refractory adult HGG patients, including young adults with Glioblastoma Multiforme or Amyloidosis.

OT-101 has been granted orphan designation by the FDA under the Orphan Drug Act ("ODA"). ODA provides for granting special status to a drug to treat a rare disease or condition upon request of a drug company. Orphan designation qualifies the sponsor of the drug for various development incentives of the ODA, including tax credits for qualified clinical testing. OT-101 also been granted Rare Pediatric Designation for DIPG. The FDA grants rare pediatric disease designation for diseases with serious or life-threatening manifestations that primarily affect people aged from birth to 18 years, and that affect fewer than 200,000 people in the U.S. Under the FDA's Rare Pediatric Disease Priority Review Voucher program, a sponsor who receives an approval of a new drug application or biologics license application for a product for the prevention or treatment of a rare pediatric disease may be eligible for a voucher, which can be redeemed to obtain priority review for any subsequent marketing application and may be sold or transferred.

As previously reported, on March 31, 2022, we entered into a joint venture, or JV, with Dragon Overseas Capital Ltd. (Dragon Overseas) and GMP Biotechnology Ltd. (GMP Bio). The JV and Oncotelic will develop and ultimately market OT-101, individually and/or in combination with other products. Oncotelic would receive up to $50 million on sale of the RPD voucher, following marketing approval of OT-101 for diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, or DIPG, by the US Food and Drug Administration.

About Oncotelic

Oncotelic (f/k/a Mateon Therapeutics, Inc.), was formed in the State of New York in 1988 as OXiGENE, Inc., was reincorporated in the State of Delaware in 1992, and changed its name to Mateon Therapeutics, Inc. in 2016, and Oncotelic Therapeutics, Inc. in November 2020. Oncotelic is seeking to leverage its deep expertise in oncology drug development to improve treatment outcomes and survival of cancer patients with a special emphasis on rare pediatric cancers. Oncotelic has rare pediatric designation for Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma “DIPG” (through OT-101) through its 45% joint venture, melanoma (through CA4P), and Acute Myeloid Leukemia “AML” (through OXi 4503). Oncotelic also acquired PointR Data Inc. in November 2019.

Oncotelic acquired AL-101, during the 4th quarter of 2021, for the intranasal delivery of apomorphine. We intend to develop AL-101 for the treatment of Parkinson Disease ("PD"). Over 60,000 new patients are being diagnosed with PD in the United States and currently there are over 1 million patients in the US and expected to increase to over 1.2 million by 2030. In addition, approximately 10 million suffer from this disease globally. https://www.parkinson.org/Understanding-Parkinsons/Statistics. AL-101 is also being developed for Erectile Dysfunction ("ED"). ED is the most prevalent male sexual disorder globally. The percentages of men affected by ED are as follows: 14.3-70% of men aged 60 years, 6.7-48% of men aged 70 years, and 38% of men aged 80 years (Geerkens MJM et al. (2019). Eur Urol Focus. pii: S2405-4569(19)30079-3). However, with the increasing administration of PDE5 inhibitors in clinical practice, it was found that approximately 30-35% of ED patients are treatment failures (McMahon CN et al. (2006). BMJ, 332: 589-92). AL-101 is designed to target treatment failure ED patients who do not respond to PDE5 inhibitors. Through similar mechanism of action, AL-101 is being developed for Female Sexual Dysfunction ("FSD"). Female sexual dysfunction is a prevalent problem, afflicting approximately 40% of women and there are few treatment options. FSD is more typical as women age and is a progressive and widespread condition. (Allahdadi, KJ et al. (2009) Cardiovascular & hematological agents in medicinal chemistry, 7(4), 260-269). There is no available drug for the treatment of FSD. In June 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Vyleesi (bremelanotide) to treat acquired, generalized hypoactive sexual desire disorder ("HSDD") in premenopausal women. This is the only available drug treatment. Vyleesi has essentially replaced the only other drug for HSDD - however, it has a long list of drug-drug interactions, including commonly used antidepressants, such as fluoxetine and sertraline. In addition, it has a black box warning regarding its use with alcohol, a combination that has been associated with hypotension and syncopal episodes. Therefore, there is an urgent need for effective therapy against FSD and HSDD.

Oncotelic's Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this communication regarding strategy, future operations, future financial position, prospects, plans and objectives of management are forward-looking statements. Words such as "may", "expect", "anticipate" "hope", "vision", "optimism", "design", "exciting", "promising", "will", "conviction", "estimate," "intend," "believe", "quest for a cure of cancer", "innovation-driven", "paradigm-shift", "high scientific merit", "impact potential" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements contained in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements about future plans related to the operations of the JV, taking the JV into an initial public offering or the success thereof, the progress, timing of clinical development, scope and success of future clinical trials, the reporting of clinical data for the company's product candidates and the potential use of the company's product candidates to treat various cancer indications as well as obtaining required regulatory approval to conduct clinical trials and upon granting of approval by the regulatory agencies, the successful marketing of the products; building and the success of our nanoparticle platform and the related success of launching the platform, the success of the launch of a company with a DAO infrastructure, the success of the entity and the plans surrounding the pet and animal health, the ability for the Company to register the tokens of Pet2Dao, the actual filing of a registration statement and approval of the tokens as registrable securities with the SEC through a registration statement, the ability of the tokens to be tradable or any value such tokens may have if they become tradable.. Each of these forward-looking statements involves risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from these forward-looking statements or may not occur at all. Many factors may cause differences between current expectations and actual results, including unexpected safety or efficacy data observed during preclinical or clinical studies, clinical trial site activation or enrollment rates that are lower than expected, changes in expected or existing competition, changes in the regulatory environment, failure of collaborators to support or advance collaborations or product candidates and unexpected litigation or other disputes, taking the Company or its affiliates through initial public offerings. These risks are not exhaustive, the company faces known and unknown risks, including the risk factors described in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on April 15, 2022 and in the company's other periodic filings. Forward-looking statements are based on expectations and assumptions as of the date of this press release. Except as required by law, the company does not assume any obligation to update forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in expectations, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

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