GTx and the University of Tennessee Research Foundation Enter Into Exclusive License Agreement to Develop UTRF’s SARD Drug Technology

On April 23, 2015 GTx reported that it has entered into an exclusive worldwide license agreement with the University of Tennessee Research Foundation (UTRF) to develop its proprietary selective androgen receptor degrader (SARD) technology which potentially can degrade and inhibit all forms of androgen receptor (AR), including those resistant to current therapies, in patients with progressive castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) (Press release, GTx, APR 23, 2015, View Source [SID:1234503130]).

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"While current therapies continue to have a clinically significant role in the treatment of castration-resistant prostate cancer, progressive disease and resistance to these agents will eventually develop in most patients," said Dr. Robert J. Wills, Executive Chairman of GTx. "The lack of activity of these agents in approximately one-third of patients makes the SARD technology we have licensed from UTRF very attractive due to the potential to develop compounds that not only degrade AR but also the splice variant mutations, thereby providing a potential novel therapy for the thousands of men who suffer from castration-resistant prostate cancer."

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The Company will host a conference call and webcast on Friday, May 8, at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time, to provide a corporate update on the Company’s preclinical and clinical development initiatives, including a discussion of its near term plans for the licensed SARD technology, and its first quarter 2015 financial results. The call and webcast will follow the release of the financial results earlier that day.

First Quarter Conference Call and Webcast

To listen to the conference call, please dial 877-930-8288 from the United States or Canada or 253-336-8703 from other international locations. The access code for the call is 25497458. A playback of the call will be available for seven days after the conference call and may be accessed by dialing 855-859-2056 from the United States or Canada or 404-537-3406 from other international locations and referencing reservation number 25497458. Additionally, you may access the live and subsequently archived webcast of the conference call from the Investor Relations section of the Company’s website at View Source

About Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer Therapy

Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is generally the initial treatment for men with metastatic prostate cancer. Despite initial response, nearly all men eventually develop progressive disease following ADT; this is referred to as castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). The development of various agents for CRPC, such as androgen synthesis inhibitors and androgen receptor antagonists, has improved overall survival in these patients. However, progressive disease and resistance to these agents eventually develops in most cases. The mechanisms for resistance are not fully understood, but it is believed that CRPC growth is highly dependent on androgen receptor (AR) activity. Approximately one-third of CRPC patients develop resistance to currently available treatments, due in part to the emergence of mutations of the AR in late stage disease. These mutations contain a splice variant sequence where the main binding site, the ligand binding domain, necessary for the action of current therapies is lost. A therapeutic agent that would safely degrade or inhibit all forms of the AR, including those without the ligand binding domain, may be uniquely positioned to address these splice variant mutations in certain patients.