Updated Phase 1b Data for Demcizumab in Non-Small Cell Lung and Pancreatic Cancers

First Public Presentation of Clinical Data From Ongoing Phase 1 Trials for Anti-Notch1 and Fzd8-Fc Programs

Updated Pharmacodynamic Data for the Vantictumab Program

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Oct. 14, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OMED), a clinical-stage company developing novel therapeutics that target cancer stem cells (CSCs), or tumor-initiating cells, today reported five abstracts had been accepted as poster presentations at the upcoming AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, October 19-23, 2013 at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, MA.

These five posters contain results from four of OncoMed's five clinical stage product development candidates. Two of the five posters represent the first public presentations of clinical data from two novel anti-CSC agents: anti-Notch1 (OMP-52M51), an antibody targeting the Notch1 receptor and inhibiting signaling through this important target in the Notch CSC pathway, and Fzd8-Fc (OMP-54F28), a fusion protein binding Wnt ligands and inhibiting the key Wnt CSC pathway. The titles and timing of the five poster presentations are:

About Cancer Stem Cells

Cancer stem cells, or CSCs, are the subpopulation of cells in a tumor responsible for driving growth and metastasis of the tumor. CSCs, also known as tumor-initiating cells, exhibit certain properties which include the capacity to divide and give rise to new CSCs via a process called self-renewal and the capacity to differentiate or change into the other cells that form the bulk of the tumor. Common cancer drugs target bulk tumor cells but have limited impact on CSCs, thereby providing a path for recurrence of the tumor. OncoMed's product candidates target CSCs by blocking self-renewal and driving differentiation of CSCs toward a non-tumorigenic state, and also impact bulk tumor cells. OncoMed believes its product candidates are distinct from the current generations of chemotherapies and targeted therapies, and have the potential to significantly impact cancer treatment and the clinical outcome of patients with cancer.

About Demcizumab (OMP-21M18)

Demcizumab (OMP-21M18) is a humanized monoclonal antibody that inhibits Delta-Like Ligand 4 (DLL4) in the Notch signaling pathway. Two Phase 1b combination trials of demcizumab are ongoing. The first trial is in combination with standard-of-care gemcitabine and Abraxane(TM) in first-line advanced pancreatic cancer patients, and the second trial is in combination with standard-of-care carboplatin and pemetrexed (Alimta(TM)) in first-line advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Data from the demcizumab NSCLC and pancreatic cancer Phase 1b trials will be presented at the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics in Boston, MA, in October 2013. In addition, a Phase 1b/2 trial of demcizumab and paclitaxel in patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer is ongoing at MD Anderson Cancer Center. OncoMed has worldwide rights to this program.

About Vantictumab (OMP-18R5)

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OncoMed Pharmaceuticals to Present Data From Clinical Trials of Four Novel Anti-Cancer Stem Cell (anti-CSC ...