ARIUS presents new findings showing therapeutic antibody inhibits human leukemic cancer ...(cells represents an exciting opportunity...)

"ARIUS is very pleased to collaborate with Dr. John Dick, a pioneer in the cancer stem cell field. Prior to collaborating with Dr. Dick, our CD9 antibody demonstrated potent anti-tumor activity in several pre-clinical solid tumor models. Our antibody also appears to be a specific cancer stem cell inhibitor, suggesting that it may become an important drug and forge new paths for the treatment of cancer," said Dr. Daniel S. Pereira, Vice President of Research of ARIUS. "We have identified large and small animal toxicology models suitable for further studies of AR40A746.2.3 and we are on track in the development of this molecule for human clinical trials."

CD9 is a potential marker of acute myeloid leukemia stem cells (LSC) and

serves as a LSC-specific therapeutic target. Poster Session A, Wednesday,

Feb 13th 2008, from 4:30-6:30 pm in the Concourse Ballroom of the Los

Angeles Marriott.

AR40A746.2.3, a functional antibody that targets CD9, has previously been shown to have anti-tumor and survival benefits in animal models of human breast and pancreatic cancer. CD9 is highly expressed and differentially expressed in AML versus normal stem cells (42.7+10.1% verus 9.9+2.8%). Preliminary experiments show that targeting CD9 with AR40A746.2.3 inhibits human AML outgrowth in the NOD/SCID mouse xenotransplant model. In secondary transplantation experiments, treatments with AR40A746.2.3 dramatically reduced the self-renewal capacity of AML cancer stem cells.

About ARIUS

ARIUS is a biotechnology company discovering and developing the next wave of antibody therapeutics. Established in 1999, ARIUS has built a propr
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