Pieris Reports Development Progress for Anticalin(R) PRS-050, a Next Generation VEGF ...( FREISING-WEIHENSTEPHAN Germany Fe...),Health

FREISING-WEIHENSTEPHAN, Germany, February 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Pieris AG, a biopharmaceutical company developing Anticalins(R), a novel class of targeted human protein therapeutics, reports today that it has made significant progress in the development of its Anticalin(R) candidate PRS-050, a potent VEGF antagonist with broad therapeutic applicability.

Having successfully demonstrated the mode of action of PRS-050 in vitro and in vivo, Pieris has now validated the efficacy of the Anticalin(R) product candidate in several preclinical models. Amongst those tested, DCE-MRI (Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging) has been established and validated to monitor immediate treatment effects in the upcoming Phase I clinical trial. Production process parameters for GMP manufacture of PRS-050 have also been clearly defined. Initial toxicology results have shown that PRS-050 is very well tolerated.

Progress in the PRS-050 program demonstrates that Pieris has fulfilled critical speed and capacity goals in producing Anticalins(R) as clinical product candidates. Discovery programs can be advanced from lead candidate to GMP production in less than twelve months. Furthermore, several grams per liter production of Anticalins(R) in Wacker Biotech's proprietary bacterial secretion system ESETEC(R) supports broad therapeutic application of the Anticalin(R) technology.

In light of the progress in its lead proprietary program, the Company also announced the expansion of its Management Team with the appointment of Dr Kristian Jensen as Chief Operating Officer. Dr Angelika Stern will henceforth be fully dedicated to management of the PRS-050 program in her new function as Head of Project Management Angiogenesis.

Kristian Jensen joins Pieris from Merck Serono, where he spent almost three years establishing and managing its phage display antibody facility in Geneva, Switzerland. Prior to Merck
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