11 June 2020

Oncoinvent Announces Dosing of First Patient with Radspherin® in a Second Phase 1 Clinical Trial

Radiopharmaceutical company starts first-in-human trial in a second patient population; ovarian cancer patients suffering from peritoneal carcinomatosis

Oncoinvent AS, a clinical stage radiopharmaceutical company developing novel radioisotope-based therapies to provide new therapeutic options for cancer patients, today announced that a second phase 1 clinical trial of it’s lead candidate compound Radspherin® has been initiated. The first ovarian cancer patient has been treated with Radspherin® at the Radium Hospital in Oslo under the guidance of clinical investigator Dr. Yun Wang, M.D., Ph.D.

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Both the phase 1 trial in ovarian cancer patients and the recently announced phase 1 trial in colorectal cancer patients are currently being carried out at the Radium Hospital in Oslo.

Professor Ignace Vergote, MD PhD FACS FSPS Chairman, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Gynaecological Oncologist, University Hospital Leuven Belgium and lead clinical investigator in the ovarian cancer trial commented, “Having studied the effects of radioisotopes on ovarian cancer, I believe that alpha-emitting radiopharmaceuticals represent a promising new approach for treating patients suffering from advanced ovarian cancer, who have been debulked to no residual tumor. All opportunities to improve the lives of ovarian cancer patients should be explored. Radspherin® has demonstrated compelling preclinical activity in multiple cancer models, and I am looking forward to further investigate it in this phase 1 study.”

“We are pleased that both phase 1 trials are now underway,” said Jan A. Alfheim, Chief Executive Officer of Oncoinvent. “This is a major milestone for the company. These studies are the first step in the clinical development of Radspherin®, and we expect them to provide important information about safety and distribution of the product candidate in the peritoneal cavity of patients suffering from peritoneal carcinomatosis. With the high unmet need in this underserved patient population and based on our encouraging preclinical data, we hope that Radspherin® may provide ovarian cancer and colorectal cancer patients with better outcomes. We are excited to have started the Phase 1 clinical program and we look forward to working closely with the hospitals and clinical researchers to advance the clinical development of Radspherin® as quickly as possible.”

About the Study
The phase 1 open-label, dose-escalation clinical trial is designed to assess the dose, safety and tolerability of Radspherin®, an alpha-emitting radionuclide therapy, administered into the intraperitoneal cavity in subjects with peritoneal carcinomatosis from ovarian cancer following complete cytoreductive surgery. Key objectives in the study include determining maximum tolerated dose, abdominal biodistribution, and preliminary anti-tumor activity. Please refer to www.clinicaltrials.gov for additional clinical trial details.

About Radspherin®
Radspherin® is a novel alpha-emitting radioactive microsphere suspension designed for treatment of metastatic cancers in body cavities. The radium-224 based therapeutic, Radspherin® has shown strong and consistent anticancer activity at doses being essentially non-toxic in preclinical studies. It is anticipated that the product can potentially be used to treat several forms of metastatic cancer.

About Oncoinvent
Oncoinvent AS is a privately held Norwegian company based in Oslo, Norway. The company is committed to developing new innovative products to provide better treatment options to cancer patients. The company’s founders started Oncoinvent in 2010 with a view to designing better cancer treatments by applying known physical and chemical principles of selected novel materials in new ways to maximize their medical benefit while minimizing potential safety concerns. This approach has allowed the company to explore and develop multiple technological avenues before selecting a lead product candidate for preclinical testing.

For further information, please contact:

Jan A. Alfheim, Chief Executive Officer
Cell: +47 46 44 00 45
Email: Alfheim@oncoinvent.com

IR enquiries:
Tore Kvam, Chief Financial Officer
Cell: +47 95 93 41 99
Email: kvam@oncoinvent.com

Øystein Soug

Chief Executive Officer

soug@oncoinvent.com

Oystein Soug has over 15 years of experience in biotechnology, holding several management positions. Most recently, Mr. Soug was CEO of Arxx Therapeutics, where he led the company to initiate the clinical programme and was responsible for the merger with Dutch pharma company Oxitope Pharma to create Calluna Pharma. Prior to Arxx, he served as CFO and then CEO of Targovax, an Oslo listed biotechnology company, which went public during Mr. Soug’s tenure. Mr. Soug started his career in biotech as CFO of Oslo-listed radiopharmaceutical company Algeta. During this period, the company conducted a successful phase 3 trial, launched its radium-223 based prostate cancer drug Xofigo® and out-licensed the drug. Mr. Soug co-led the sale of the company to Bayer in 2014.  

Mr. Soug holds an MSc in Economics and Financial Markets from Universität St. Gallen in Switzerland in 1997

Anders Månsson

Chief Executive Officer

mansson@oncoinvent.com

Anders Månsson is a business executive with over 25 years of experience from management roles in the pharmaceutical industry, focusing on commercialisation and M&A + licensing. Mr. Månsson has held leading roles in the industry both in his native Sweden and in other European countries, and he has worked extensively with the USA and Asia as focus markets in global roles.

Mr. Månsson holds a B.Sc. degree in Business & Economics from Lund’s University in Sweden as well as an MBA from Business School Lausanne in Switzerland. He has a broad-based industrial experience, featuring both large multinational companies such as Meda, Ferring & LEO Pharma, and including leading roles in start-ups and smaller biotech companies. On top of his executive role in Oncoinvent, Mr. Månsson holds two non-executive director positions serving on the board of EQL Pharma AB as well Immetric AB, the latter being an investment company focusing on life science.