Immune Pharmaceuticals' Oncology Subsidiary, Cytovia Inc. Provides Update to Proposed Pint Pharma Transaction: Substantial Agreement Reached on Material Terms of the Licensing and Commercialization of Ceplene® in Latin America

NEW YORK, June 29, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Immune Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: IMNP) (the "Company") announced today that its oncology subsidiary, Cytovia Inc. ("Cytovia") has reached substantial agreement on the material terms of a licensing and commercialization agreement of Ceplene® in Latin America with Pint Pharma S.A. ("Pint"), a private specialty pharmaceutical company with extensive experience in the pharmaceutical sector throughout Latin America.  As previously announced by us on April 20, 2017, the Company had entered into a letter of intent with Pint, which provided that the parties would use their best efforts to reach agreement regarding the terms of an exclusive license which would provide Pint the rights to commercialize Ceplene^® throughout Latin America, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico within 60 days. The parties currently anticipate that they will execute a definitive licensing agreement within the next five to seven business days.

The parties have agreed that Pint will be responsible for the registration and commercialization of Ceplene^® in Latin American countries, and that Pint will base its registration application on the existing European marketing authorization for Ceplene^®. Commercialization activities include registration, pricing and reimbursement, and sales and marketing activities. The definitive agreements will provide for sales based milestones as well as product supply pricing schedules, which will provide appropriate economics to our subsidiary, Cytovia.

In addition, the parties have agreed to enter into a definitive agreement related to Pint's commitment to invest $4 million into Cytovia at terms similar to other investors in the same financing round and upon satisfaction of certain conditions precedent. Dr. Massimo Radaelli, Executive Chairman of Pint, will join the board of directors of Cytovia following completion of the investment.

Dr. Daniel Teper commented, "I am pleased to confirm the substantial progress made in this regard and look forward to a partnership with Pint for Latin America markets, which follows our acquisition of the remainder of worldwide Ceplene^® rights from Mylan. Our strategic plan is to commercialize Ceplene^® in combination with low dose IL-2 in all markets that accept the European registration dossier as a basis for approval.  We also plan to pursue approval of Ceplene^® in the United States based on the previously announced global overall survival study, REMAIN".

"We are very excited about the partnership with Immune and its subsidiary, Cytovia, an emerging global bio-pharmaceutical company focused on the development of immuno-oncology drugs. Providing Ceplene^® to patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) in the Latin America region is an important milestone and expands Pint's robust oncology pipeline", added David Munoz, CEO of Pint.

Currently, Ceplene^® is the only drug approved in 30 European countries and Israel for the maintenance of first remission in Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). It is administered in combination with interleukin-2 (IL-2). Given the significant unmet need (~10,000 newly diagnosed AML patients a year in Latin America) and no alternative drugs in the remission setting, Pint and Cytovia strongly believe in the importance of launching the combination of Ceplene^® and IL-2 in Latin American countries.

About Ceplene^®

Ceplene^® (histamine dihydrochloride) is administered in conjunction with low dose interleukin-2 (IL-2), for maintenance of first remission in patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). It has been shown in clinical studies to prevent leukemic relapses in AML patients in first remission and prolong leukemia-free survival, while maintaining good quality of life during treatment.  Ceplene^® acts by enhancing the immunostimulatory effect of IL-2 and countering reactive oxygen species-induced dysfunction and apoptosis of T and NK cells, thereby inducing immune-mediated killing of leukemic cells, providing a strong rationale for this combination therapy. A recent Phase IV study presented at the meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in 2016 confirmed the safety and efficacy of Ceplene^® in the international study that supported European approval.

About Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)

AML patients receive intensive induction treatment with chemotherapeutic drugs at diagnosis and typically become free of detectable leukemia, achieving "complete remission." However, within 1-2 years, the majority (75-80%) of adult patients will experience a relapse of leukemia, with a survival prognosis of 33% in younger patients and 15-20% in patients over 60 years of age. According to the American Cancer Society, there will be approximately 21,380 new cases of AML and 10,590 deaths from AML in the US in 2017. The prognosis following first remission is poor and there are no other effective remission therapies currently available. AML represents an orphan condition with high unmet need.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release, and any oral statements made with respect to the information contained in this news release, may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You are urged to consider statements that include the words "may," "will," "would," "could," "should," "believes," "estimates," "projects," "potential," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "intends," "continues," "forecast," "designed," "goal" or the negative of those words or other comparable words to be uncertain and forward-looking. Such forward-looking statements include statements that express plans, anticipation, intent, contingency, goals, targets, future development and are otherwise not statements of historical fact. Forward-looking statements include, among others, statements regarding the Company's ability to reduce expenses, capitalize on strategic alternatives, develop its assets, and generate value for shareholders. These statements are based on our current expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or developments to be materially different from historical results or from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

There can be no assurance that the Company will ever successfully complete its corporate restructuring, or that the Company will be able to reduce expenses, capitalize on strategic alternatives, develop its assets, and generate value for shareholders. In addition, among other risks, there can be no guarantee that the Pint licensing and commercialization agreement or the concomitant investment by Pint will be completed, or if it is completed, that it will close within the anticipated time period or that the expected benefits of these agreements will be realized. Factors that may cause actual results or developments to differ materially include, but are not limited to: the risks associated with the adequacy of our existing cash resources and our ability to continue as a going concern; the risks associated with our ability to continue to meet our obligations under our existing debt agreements; the risk that ongoing or future clinical trials will not be successful; the risk that our compounds under development will not receive regulatory approval or achieve significant commercial success; the risk that we will not be able to find a partner to help conduct future trials or commercialize our product candidates on attractive terms, on a timely basis or at all; the risk that our product candidates that appear promising in early research and clinical trials do not demonstrate safety and/or efficacy in larger-scale or later-stage clinical trials; the risk that we will not obtain approval to market any of our product candidates; the risks associated with dependence upon key personnel; the risks associated with reliance on collaborative partners and others for further clinical trials, development, manufacturing and commercialization of our product candidates; the cost, delays and uncertainties associated with our scientific research, product development, clinical trials and regulatory approval process; our history of operating losses since our inception; the highly competitive nature of our business; risks associated with litigation; and risks associated with our ability to protect our intellectual property. These factors and other material risks are more fully discussed in our periodic reports, including our reports on Forms 8-K, 10-Q and 10-K and our other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

You are urged to carefully review and consider the disclosures found in our filings, which are available at www.sec.gov or at www.immunepharma.com. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, any of which could turn out to be wrong due to inaccurate assumptions, unknown risks or uncertainties or other risk factors. We expressly disclaim any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements contained herein (including those relating to the corporate reorganization and exploration of strategic alternatives), whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. 

SOURCE Immune Pharmaceuticals Inc.

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