TapImmune Announces Phase 2 Ovarian Cancer Trial Study with AstraZeneca/MedImmune and Sloan Kettering Cancer Institute

JACKSONVILLE, Florida, April 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

• Study to commence Q2 2016 at Sloan Kettering Institute 
• Cancer vaccine and checkpoint inhibitor combination to be evaluated in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer patients  

TapImmune,Inc. (TPIV), a clinical-stage immunology-oncology company specializing in the development of innovative peptide and gene-based immunotherapeutics and vaccines for the treatment of cancer & metastatic disease, announced today plans to initiate a Phase 2 trial of its cancer vaccine, TPIV 200, a multi-epitope anti-folate receptor vaccine (FRα), in combination with Astra Zeneca (NYSE:AZN) durvalumab (MEDI4736), an anti-PD-L1 antibody, in patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer. The study will commence in the second quarter of 2016 at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York and will be led by Jason Konner, M.D. as Principal Investigator.

The two Companies will share clinical costs, while TapImmune will supply TPIV 200 and MedImmune will supply Durvalumab (MED14736) for the trials.  TapImmune recently obtained Orphan Drug Designation for TPIV 200 in ovarian cancer from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

This single arm Phase 2 trial will include 40 women with high-grade ovarian, tubal, or primary peritoneal carcinomas, who have progressed within 6 months of their most recent platinum chemotherapy. The primary objective of the study is to determine the effectiveness of the combination by measuring Overall Response Rate [ORR = Complete Response (CR) + Partial Response (PR)] by RECIST and Progression Free Survival (PFS) rate at 6 months.   Secondary endpoints will be safety and immune and correlation of FRα-specific immune responses with clinical efficacy.  

"This collaboration is a significant event for TapImmune," stated Dr. Glynn Wilson, Chairman and CEO of TapImmune. "We are delighted to bring a leading T-cell vaccine platform into this combination study and to work with AstraZeneca/Medimmune and Sloan Kettering in a patient population that is in dire need of an effective treatment."

"This study is part of a larger Phase 2 strategy for TPIV 200 that is designed to greatly increase our understanding of the vaccine while providing clinical evidence of efficacy," Dr. Wilson added.

TPIV 200 is a multi-epitope peptide vaccine that targets Folate Receptor Alpha, which is overexpressed in multiple cancers including over 90% of ovarian cancer cells.  In Phase I clinical studies conducted at the Mayo Clinic in patients with breast and ovarian cancer, this vaccine was shown to be safe and well tolerated and to give robust cellular immune responses in 20 out of 21 evaluable patients.  

About Durvalumab (MEDI4736)

Durvalumab is an investigational human monoclonal antibody directed against PD-L1 developed at MedImmune LLC. Signals from PD-L1 help tumors avoid detection by the immune system. Durvalumab blocks these signals, countering the tumor's immune-evading tactics. Durvalumab is being developed, alongside other immunotherapies, to empower the patient's immune system and attack the cancer. Durvalumab is being investigated in an extensive clinical trial program, as monotherapy or in combination with tremelimumab, in NSCLC, head and neck, gastric, pancreatic, bladder and blood cancers.

About Medimmune/AstraZeneca

MedImmune, LLC, is the global biologics research and development arm of AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) and is located in Gaithersburg, Md., one of AstraZeneca's three global R&D centers. For more information, please visit http://www.medimmune.com.

AstraZeneca is a global, innovation-driven biopharmaceutical business that focuses on the discovery, development and commercialization of prescription medicines, primarily for the treatment of diseases in three main therapy areas - respiratory, inflammation, autoimmune disease (RIA), cardiovascular and metabolic disease (CVMD) and oncology - as well as in infection and neuroscience. For more information please visit http://www.astrazeneca.com.

About TapImmune Inc.

TapImmune Inc. is an immune-oncology company specializing in the development of innovative technologies for the treatment of cancer, including metastasis, and infectious disease. The Company's peptide or nucleic acid-based immunotherapeutics, comprise one or multiple naturally processed epitopes (NPEs) designed to comprehensively stimulate a patients' killer T-cells, helper T-cells and to restore or further augment antigen presentation by using proprietary nucleic acid-based expression systems. The Company's technologies may be used as stand-alone medications or in combination with current treatment modalities. For more information please visit http://www.tapimmune.com.

Forward-Looking Statement Disclaimer

This release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements in this news release concerning the Company's expectations, plans, business outlook or future performance, and any other statements concerning assumptions made or expectations as to any future events, conditions, performance or other matters, are "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements are by their nature subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those stored in such statements. Such risks, uncertainties and factors include, but are not limited to the risks set forth in the Company's most recent Form 10-K, 10-Q and other SEC filings which are available through EDGAR at http://www.sec.gov. The Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements.

CONTACTS:
TapImmune Inc.,
Glynn Wilson, Ph.D.
Chairman & CEO
+1-(866)-359-7541

SOURCE TapImmune Inc.