Focus on Development of New Drug Candidates targeting Immune Checkpoints

NEW YORK, NY, USA I March 22, 2016 I Immune Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: IMNP), (“Immune”), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics for the treatment of immuno-inflammatory diseases and cancer, announced today the publication of a new study, which supports Immune’s bispecific antibody platform. Preclinical results were published in The Journal of Immunology1 (http://www.ncbi.nl m.nih.gov/pubmed/26921308), by Dr. Jean Kadouche, scientific co-founder of Immune, and other collaborators from a consortium of academic centers. The authors describe the design and validation of a novel platform for the production of tetravalent IgG1-like bispecific antibodies, including final in-vivo proof-of-concept data for the benchmark molecule targeting HLA-DR/CD5. This work has been funded in part by a European grant to the collaborative European consortium (BMC) led by Dr. Kadouche.

Following the acquisition of licensing rights to this technology platform, Immune has initiated several bispecific antibody discovery programs. The first program targets two immune-checkpoints, PD-1 and Ox4. The second program targets one immune checkpoint, PD-L1, and one tumor-associated antigen, BCMA, a specific marker of multiple myeloma. The third program targets undisclosed antigens.

Dr. Boris Shor, Ph.D., Executive Director R&D, Immune stated: “We believe that this therapeutic platform provides Immune with a basis for developing innovative modalities targeting immune checkpoint proteins in a variety of cancer indications. Our future goal is to develop novel classes of antibody-based therapeutics for clinically-validated and novel targets. In 2016, we expect to complete initial validation of several bispecific antibody candidates for further development based on new data generated by our R&D team and supported by new intellectual property filed by Immune.

1 J Immunol. 2016 Apr 1;196(7):3199-211. doi: 10.4049/jimmunol.1501592. Epub 2016 Feb 26.

About Immune Pharmaceuticals:

Immune Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: IMNP) applies a personalized approach to development of, and treatment with, novel, highly targeted therapeutics to improve the lives of patients with inflammatory diseases and cancer. Immune’s oncology pipeline includes bispecific antibodies, nanotherapeutics, including NanomAbs, and several mid-to-late stage small molecules, including Ceplene®, Azixa® and Crolibulin®. Ceplene is approved in over 30 European countries and Israel. Immune’s lead product candidate for the treatment of inflammatory disease, bertilimumab, is in phase II clinical development for moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis as well as for bullous pemphigoid, an orphan autoimmune dermatological condition. Other indications being considered for development include atopic dermatitis, Crohn’s disease, severe asthma and NASH (an inflammatory liver disease). Immune recently expanded its portfolio in immuno-dermatology with topical nano-formulated cyclosporine-A for the treatment of psoriasis and atopic dermatitis. Immune’s non-core pipeline includes AmiKet™, a late clinical stage drug candidate for the treatment of neuropathic pain. For more information, visit Immune’s website at www.immunepharmaceuticals.com, the content of which is not a part of this press release.

SOURCE: Immune Pharmaceuticals