YM BIOSCIENCES REPORTS NIMOTUZUMAB NSCLC CLINICAL DATA AT ASCO ANNU...( MISSISSAUGA June 2 / YM BioScienc...)

MISSISSAUGA, June 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - YM BioSciences Inc. (AMEX: YMI, TSX: YM, AIM: YMBA), an oncology company that identifies, develops and commercializes differentiated products for patients worldwide, today announced that updated preliminary trial results, including survival, response rate and overall safety data, from its escalating dose trial of nimotuzumab were presented in a poster presentation on June 1st, 2008 at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). The phase I trial is evaluating nimotuzumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody that targets the epidermal growth factor receptor, in combination with external radiotherapy in palliative treatment of patients diagnosed with stage IIb, III or IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) ineligible for chemotherapy-containing regimens.

"The median survival of 60 weeks in the palliative setting reported in this trial compares favorably with other recent trials in the same scenario, and suggests that the combination of nimotuzumab with radiation has the potential to provide a survival advantage to patients over radiation alone in the curative setting, the only alternative available to patients who are ineligible for, or unable to tolerate, chemotherapy-containing regimens," said David Allan, Chairman and CEO of YM BioSciences. "There is a significant subset of patients whose overall condition does not permit administration of chemotherapy in a combined-modality treatment to enhance their curative prospects."

Substantial radiological responses and meaningful clinical responses were seen in patients treated with the combination of nimotuzumab and radiation in each dosing cohort. This included an 89% Disease Control Rate of which 50% were Partial Responses. Eleven of the 18 patients were Stage IV, five were stage IIIb and two were Stage IIIa. No Stage II patients were enrolled. Patients were treated for eight weeks and then every two weeks until progression. Continue
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