GenSpera Presents at BIO CEO & Investor Conference

NEW YORK, Feb. 2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- GenSpera Inc. (OTCQB: GNSZ) announced today that Craig Dionne, Ph.D., chief executive officer at GenSpera, will present at the 17^th Annual BIO CEO & Investor Conference on February 9^th at 1 p.m. at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City.  The presentation comes as GenSpera continues clinical development of mipsagargin for several tumor types and expands the applicability of its innovative mechanism of action in a broad array of oncology treatments.    

The presentation will provide an update on GenSpera's long-term business growth plans, recent clinical achievements for mipsagargin in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and its ongoing Phase II trials in glioblastoma and prostate cancer.  Last month, GenSpera presented positive Phase II study results for mipsagargin in treating HCC at the 2015 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium in San Francisco, Calif., demonstrating a proof of concept for its intellectual property.  A live webcast of the BIO CEO presentation will be broadcast at: http://www.veracast.com/webcasts/bio/ceoinvestor2015/37117595001.cfm.

"We have reached an important milestone with positive Phase II results, which demonstrated that mipsagargin works as designed and destroys established tumor vasculature while sparing patients the debilitating side effects of traditional chemotherapy," said Dionne.  "We are confident that this now proven state-of-the-art precision approach has every potential to be a game changer in how we treat cancer."

Mipsagargin's mechanism of action works by targeting the enzyme prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA), which is highly expressed in all cancer tumor vasculature and in prostate cancer cells. The Phase II study results presented in San Francisco demonstrated that the prodrug effectively stabilizes progression of HCC by reducing blood flow within tumors while not affecting blood flow within normal tissues.  The study also showed indications that patients had improved quality of life and fewer side effects than typically seen in cancer treatment.  After successfully demonstrating its proof of concept, GenSpera will move forward with plans to show that mipsagargin is effective across a broad array of tumor indications.

"We are committed to the ongoing development of our technology and working to change the landscape of oncology treatment," continued Dionne. "We believe that the positive clinical results we have observed with mipsagargin will extend to other drug candidates in our portfolio."

Identifying ground-breaking oncology treatments that circumvent side effects, particularly in hard to treat cancers is a key area of oncology research.  In the United States, more than 33,000 new cases of HCC will be diagnosed in 2015.  Globally, liver cancer is a primary public health issue with more than 700,000 people diagnosed and more than 600,000 deaths annually.  There is currently only one approved treatment available for liver cancer.  Additionally, more than 13,000 new cases of glioblastoma are diagnosed in the U.S. each year. 

The 17^th Annual BIO CEO & Investor Conference is the largest independent investor conference focused on publicly-traded biotechnology companies.  The conference is designed to foster an informative dialogue between institutional investors and senior biotechnology executives about emerging and current investment opportunities. The 2014 BIO CEO & Investor Conference featured 1,820 partnering meetings, 149 company presentations and 1,400 attendees, over half of which were investors. 

About GenSpera
GenSpera Inc. is a San Antonio-based biotech company that unlocks conventional thinking to conceive, design, and develop cancer therapies. GenSpera's technology platform combines a powerful, plant-derived cytotoxin (thapsigargin) with a patented prodrug delivery system that provides for targeted release of drug candidates within tumors. GenSpera's lead drug candidate, mipsagargin, was granted Orphan Drug designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2013 for evaluation in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer).

For additional information on GenSpera, visit www.genspera.com and connect on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and Google+.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Information
This communication may contain forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that statements in this document regarding potential applications of GenSpera's technologies or the future prospects of the company constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, risks inherent in the development and commercialization of potential products, uncertainty of clinical trial results or regulatory approvals or clearances, need for future capital, dependence upon collaborators and maintenance of our intellectual property rights and the acceptance of GenSpera's proposed therapies by the health community. Actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements. Additional information on potential factors that could affect our results and other risks and uncertainties will be detailed from time to time in GenSpera's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE GenSpera Inc.

Related Links

http://www.genspera.com