Dendreon Announces Presentation of PROVENGE Data at the 25th International Society for Biological Therapy of Cancer Annual Meeting

SEATTLE and WASHINGTON, Oct. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Dendreon Corporation (Nasdaq: DNDN) today announced the following PROVENGE® (sipuleucel-T) data presentations taking place at the 25th International Society for Biological Therapy of Cancer (iSBTc) annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

• "Sipulecel-T Immune Parameters and Correlation with Overall Survival." Session 2 of the Symposium on Immuno-Oncology Biomarkers, 2010 and Beyond: Correlation of Immunity to Clinical Response and Potency Assays from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. EDT on Thursday, September 30, 2010.
• "Progress in the Active Immunotherapy of Prostate Cancer: Sipuleucel-T, an Autologous Cellular Immunotherapy." Plenary Session: Dendritic Cells and Cancer from 9:15 to 9:45 a.m. EDT on Saturday, October 2, 2010.
• "Characterization of Antigen Specific T-cell Activation and Cytokine Expression Induced by Sipuleucel-T." Poster presentation from 7:00 – 7:45 p.m. EDT on Saturday, October 2, 2010.

Data presented at the iSBTc annual meeting include data from the pivotal Phase 3 IMPACT study in which PROVENGE demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in overall survival compared to control in men with asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC).  

"The analyses from the pivotal Phase 3 IMPACT trial examining a subset of patients showed an enhanced immune response in patients treated with PROVENGE," said Mark Frohlich, M.D., senior vice president of clinical affairs and chief medical officer of Dendreon. "These findings provide further understanding of PROVENGE's proposed mechanism of action designed to stimulate a patient's immune system to identify and attack prostate cancer cells."

PROVENGE is the first product in a new therapeutic class known as autologous cellular immunotherapies to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic metastatic castration resistant (hormone refractory) prostate cancer.

PROVENGE Important Safety Information

PROVENGE is intended solely for autologous use and is not routinely tested for transmissible infectious diseases.

The safety evaluation of PROVENGE was based on 601 prostate cancer patients in four randomized clinical trials who underwent at least one leukapheresis procedure. The most common adverse events (incidence greater than or equal to 15%) are chills, fatigue, fever, back pain, nausea, joint ache, and headache. Serious adverse events reported in the PROVENGE group include acute infusion reactions (occurring within 1 day of infusion) and cerebrovascular events. In controlled clinical trials, severe (Grade 3) acute infusion reactions were reported in 3.5% of patients in the PROVENGE group. Reactions included chills, fever, fatigue, asthenia, dyspnea, hypoxia, bronchospasm, dizziness, headache, hypertension, muscle ache, nausea, and vomiting. No Grade 4 or 5 acute infusion reactions were reported in patients in the PROVENGE group.

To fulfill a post marketing requirement and as a part of the company's ongoing commitment to patients, Dendreon will conduct a registry with a target enrollment of approximately 1,500 patients to further evaluate a small potential safety signal of cerebrovascular events. In four randomized clinical trials of PROVENGE in prostate cancer patients, cerebrovascular events were observed in 3.5% of patients in the PROVENGE group compared with 2.6% of patients in the control group.

For more information on PROVENGE, please see the full Prescribing Information at www.PROVENGE.com or call Dendreon ON CALL at 1-877-336-3736.

About Active Cellular Immunotherapy

PROVENGE is classified by the FDA as an autologous cellular immunotherapy. It is designed to be an active cellular immunotherapy. Active cellular immunotherapy is designed to stimulate a T-cell response to cancer cells. An immune response is started by a specialized class of immune system cells called antigen-presenting cells (APCs). APCs take up antigens from their surroundings and process the antigens into fragments that are then displayed on the APC's surface. Once displayed, these antigens can be recognized by specific classes of immune cells called T lymphocytes (T-cells), which are activated as a result of their engagement with APCs and combat disease by seeking antigen-bearing cells directly. PROVENGE is designed to target the prostate cancer antigen prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP), an antigen that is expressed in more than 95 percent of all prostate cancers.

About Dendreon

Dendreon Corporation is a biotechnology company targeting cancer and transforming lives through the discovery, development, commercialization and manufacturing of novel therapeutics. The Company applies its expertise in antigen identification, engineering and cell processing to produce active cellular immunotherapy product candidates designed to stimulate an immune response in a variety of tumor types. Dendreon's first product, PROVENGE® (sipuleucel-T), was approved by the FDA in April 2010 for the treatment of asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic metastatic castrate resistant (hormone refractory) prostate cancer. Dendreon is exploring the application of additional ACI product candidates and small molecules for the potential treatment of a variety of cancers. The Company is headquartered in Seattle, Washington and is traded on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol DNDN. For more information about the Company and its programs, visit http://www.dendreon.com/.

This news release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Factors that could affect these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, developments affecting Dendreon's business and prospects, including commercialization of PROVENGE. Information on the factors and risks that could affect Dendreon's business, financial condition and results of operations are contained in Dendreon's public disclosure filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available at www.sec.gov. Dendreon cautions investors not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. All forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to Dendreon on the date hereof, and Dendreon undertakes no obligation to revise or update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release, except as required by law.

SOURCE Dendreon Corporation