DelMar Pharmaceuticals Presents New VAL-083 Data at Two International Scientific Conferences

VANCOUVER, British Columbia and MENLO PARK, Calif., Nov. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — DelMar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: DMPI) (“DelMar” and the “Company”), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of new cancer therapies, today announced that the Company and its research collaborators have presented data at two scientific conferences hosted by the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR).

• AACR DNA Repair:  Tumor Development & Therapeutic Response Conference.  On Friday, November 4, 2016, DelMar and its collaborators from the University of British Columbia Prostate Cancer Research Center presented an abstract entitled: “Dissecting the Molecular Mechanism of Dianhydrogalactitol (VAL-083) in Cancer Treatment.”
• AACR New Horizons in Cancer Research: Delivering Cures through Cancer Research.  Also, on Friday, November 4, 2016, DelMar and its collaborators from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and the University of British Columbia presented an abstract entitled: “Assessment of dianhydrogalactitol in the treatment of relapsed or refractory non-small cell lung cancer.”

The presentations can be accessed on DelMar’s website at https://www.delmarpharma.com/scientific-publications.html
Jeffrey Bacha, DelMar’s chairman & CEO, stated, “We continue to make great strides in understanding how VAL-083 targets cancer cells.”
The data demonstrate that, upon treatment, VAL-083 rapidly forms cross-links on the DNA of cancer cells leading to cell cycle arrest in the S/G2 phase and lethal double-strand DNA breaks.  This mechanism is distinct from other alkylating agents used in the treatment of cancer such as temozolomide, nitrosoureas or platinum-based chemotherapy.  Because VAL-083’s mechanism differs from the others it is not subject to the same resistance mechanisms and therefore may be used to treat patients whose tumors are resistant to other therapies.
“We are leveraging clinical validation from prior NCI-sponsored research with a modern understanding of VAL-083’s unique anti-cancer mechanism to diversify our product development portfolio into new indications such as lung and ovarian cancer,” added Mr. Bacha.
About VAL-083
VAL-083 is a “first-in-class,” small-molecule chemotherapeutic. In more than 40 Phase I and II clinical studies sponsored by the U.S. National Cancer Institute, VAL-083 demonstrated clinical activity against a range of cancers including lung, brain, cervical, ovarian tumors and leukemia both as a single-agent and in combination with other treatments.
VAL-083 has received an orphan drug designation in Europe for the treatment of malignant gliomas and the U.S. FDA Office of Orphan Products has granted an orphan designation to VAL-083 for the treatment of glioma, medulloblastoma and ovarian cancer.
The Company has completed a successful end of Phase II meeting with the US FDA and plans to advance VAL-083 into a pivotal clinical trial for GBM patients following bevacizumab failure.  DelMar presented data from its Phase I/II clinical trial in refractory GBM at the 2016 American Association of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual meeting demonstrating that the median survival of 22 patients receiving an assumed therapeutic dose of VAL-083 (≥20mg/m²) was 8.35 months following bevacizumab (Avastin) failure compared to published literature where survival of approximately two to five months has been reported.
DelMar’s advanced development program will feature a single multi-center randomized Phase III study measuring survival outcomes compared to a “physicians’ choice” control, which, if successful, would serve as the basis for a New Drug Application (NDA) submission for VAL-083.  The control arm will consist of a limited number of salvage chemotherapies currently utilized in the treatment of Avastin-failed GBM. The final pivotal trial design will be confirmed with the FDA following further discussions with the Company’s clinical advisors.
In addition to the pivotal trial, DelMar also plans to initiate two separate Phase II clinical trials in earlier-stage GBM patients.

• In collaboration with the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center:  A non-comparative, biomarker-driven, Phase II study to determine if treatment of MGMT-unmethylated recurrent GBM with VAL-083 or CCNU improves overall survival at 9 months, compared to historical control in bevacizumab naïve patients. (clinicaltrials.gov identifier:  NCT02717962)
• In collaboration with Sun-Yat Sen University and Guangxi Wuzhou Pharmaceutical (Group) Co.:  A single arm Phase II clinical trial to confirm the tolerability of DelMar’s dosing regimen in combination with radiotherapy (XRT) and to explore the activity of VAL-083 in newly diagnosed MGMT-unmethylated GBM patients whose tumors are known to express high levels of MGMT.

DelMar believes that data from these clinical trials, if successful, will form the basis of a new paradigm in the treatment for all GBM patients who fail, or whose tumors exhibit features that make them unlikely to respond to currently available chemotherapy.
In addition to its clinical research in GBM, DelMar believes that its research supports a unique mechanism of action for VAL-083 and that these data support the potential of VAL-083 as a new chemotherapy that may offer improved outcomes in the treatment of GBM and other solid tumors in patients whose tumors have failed or exhibit features that make them resistant to or unlikely to respond to current standard-of-care chemotherapy.
The company and its collaborators from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center recently presented data at the 11^th Biennial Ovarian Cancer Research Symposium demonstrating that VAL-083 was able to overcome cisplatin-resistance in ovarian cancer cell lines with known p53 mutations and displays synergy with both cisplatin and AstraZeneca’s PARP inhibitor Olaparib™ against ovarian cancer in vitro.
Read full press release here.
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