Cantargia’s development project exposed by leading scientific journal

On 13 September 2016 Cantargia AB (“Cantargia”) announced that an article on Cantargia’s antibodies and concept for cancer treatment had been published in the scientific journal Blood. New results in preclinical models were presented, including data on Cantargia’s CAN04 product candidate in the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). The article has now received further attention in Blood, where it is discussed in a wider context along with data from a US research group. The two studies give a scientific support for Cantargia’s development.

Cantargia is developing a cancer therapy targeted against the molecule, interleukin 1 receptor associated protein (IL1RAP), which is expressed on cancer cells in a large number of cancer forms. In September 2016 Cantargia’s founders published an article in Blood and in December 2016 Dr Helena Ågerstam from Lund University presented results from a study using Cantargia’s antibodies, including the CAN04 product candidate, at the conference of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) in San Diego, USA. Both the article in Blood and the presentation at the ASH focused on studies in preclinical models of CML.

The latest edition of Blood again addressed Cantargia’s data, this time together with data from an independent US research group, Zhang et al., whose research complements Cantargia’s study. Taken together, the data from the two research teams show that the interleukin-1 system plays an important role in the progression of CML and that blocking this system and stimulating the immune system to directly destroy cancer cells could be an important component of future cancer treatments. Cantargia’s CAN04 product candidate is unique in the sense that it possesses both these properties – blocking IL1RAP signalling and activating the immune system to recognise and destroy cancer cells. The article is available at http://www.bloodjournal.org/content/128/23/2592.

“Cantargia is centred in a research area with a large potential. It is therefore very encouraging that a respected journal like Blood has chosen to highlight our research along with independent data that confirms and supplements our own data. The biological mechanisms of action that are highlighted in Blood are relevant not only for CML, but for many different forms of cancer”, Göran Forsberg, CEO of Cantargia, says.

For further information, please contact
Göran Forsberg, CEO
Telephone: +46 (0)46-275 62 60
E-mail: goran.forsberg@cantargia.com
Certified Adviser: Sedermera Fondkommission

This constitutes information that Cantargia is required to publish under the EU’s Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication through the above contact person on 19 December 2016, at 08.30.

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